Blackberry Bun's Second Journal
by Blackberry Bun
Summary: Blackberry Bun's fate has been twisted, and he returns to tell tales of twisted fates. All referenced episodes are from the year 2007 version of Strawberry Shortcake cartoon TV show, and unlike in the first journal, in here the referenced episodes are altered because of Blackberry Bun's presence.
1. Prologue

Prologue: A Twist of Fate

Years have passed since the day I had started my new life in the new world. Like I have said before, the new world is a much harder place to live on. However, I enjoy each and every passing day and always look forward to see what things will happen in the next day. I still remember about the previous life I have had, and sometimes I wonder how the other kids are doing. If I think about it, my previous life was really a tragic one. All the memorable things I have gone through together were simply ended by finding out that I was never supposed to exist among them. Often times I wished to change that fate, but there was nothing I could do. However, not so long ago I had to take back my words.

Now where should I start...? Oh well, I'll just start from the beginning...

At night some days ago, I was sitting in front of my desk in my room doing my daily routine when suddenly a blackout occured. There was no light so I became pretty much blind at that time. Everyone else in my home were downstairs and I thought it was better to stick together at times like that so I decided to go to them. My room was quite a mess so to avoid stepping on things I went down from my chair into crawling position and started to carefully crawl towards the door.

However, something was not right. I crawled for some seconds but I still couldn't find the door. My room was not that large so I should have reached the door already, but I couldn't even feel any door or wall close by. I kept crawling anyway, hoping that I would eventually reach something.

The crawl lasted for some minutes and I had no idea what was happening that time. While I was still wondering, I saw a glimpse of light. That light reminded me about the light I had seen in my previous life which had led me and my former friends to Oz. I then crawled to the light, and suddenly the light grew quickly, blinding me. It took a few seconds until I regained my vision, and I could not believe what I saw next. I found myself being in my house of my previous life. I then tried to stand up, but somehow I couldn't do it.

"Good morning, Black Currant," a voice said to me. I looked to the source and saw that the voice came from myself of the previous life.

"Huh? What is going on here?" I asked, but I heard that only a mew came from my mouth.

"Here's your breakfast," my past self said, giving me a cat dish filled with milk. I immediately looked below and saw that my hands had become paws. I had somehow become a cat.

"How can this happen?" I asked, but once again only a mew came out.

"Enjoy your meal," my past self said, and he went towards the working room.

I then began drinking the milk he had given me, and also began thinking about the mess I ended up into. How could a simple blackout had led me back into the world of my previous life? Why had I ended up as a cat? I also wondered why there was another me there. I didn't remember ever having a cat as a pet, and I didn't even remember the name Black Currant. Had I actually ended up in an alternate world similar to Alternate Strawberryland? But then again, after looking at myself in the mirror, which was then a black cat slightly larger that Custard, something which felt like a deja vu came to me.

"This cat seems somewhat familiar..." I thought, still looking at the mirror. "The name Black Currant as well..."

I tried hard to remember, but nothing came to me. I then decided to take a look around the house. It was an exciting experience to once again see the place where I had used to live. Nothing had changed as far as I could see, but then I noticed that quite an amount of devices went missing from their places such as Telekinator, Replicator, and Scarecrow. I then looked at the calendar and noticed that the day displayed was quite a distant past before the day I died. By the time displayed in the calendar, I hadn't even met the other kids. I then went into the room where my past self was working to make a device. As I approached him, I noticed that he was working on making Nature's Blessing.

"Nature's Blessing, huh?" I said, but like before, only a mew came out.

"Huh? Oh, Black Currant. You want to play?" my past self said.

"Oh, no. Just keep going," I said, shaking my head. Only a mew came out but he seemed to understand the shake.

"Oh, so you want to stay and support me from there?" he asked, and I nodded. "Thanks. It should not be long."

Like he had said, he finished Nature's Blessing within the next few minutes, although he had not came up with the name of the device yet.

"Plants around this device will grow very fast before our eyes! What do you think about this device, Black Currant?" he asked. I just smiled and let out a mew. "But I haven't given this device a name. Do you have any idea?"

I nodded and immediately took a piece of paper along with a pen from a nearby shelf. Using the pen, I tried to write the name of the device on the paper, but it was difficult because cat paws were not made to write.

"What are you trying to write?" he asked, looking at me struggling with the pen. In the end I finished writing the name and gave the paper to him. "Nature's... Blessing?"

"Yes," I said, letting out a mew as usual.

"That's a great name!" he said in excitement. "You are a really smart cat!"

"Thanks," I said with a smile.

"Let's play around with this new invention!" he said, walking towards the entrance. I followed him, but as I reached the entrance I realized that I couldn't get out of the house. The entrance of the house was a trap door with a rope ladder leading down, and with cat paws it was impossible to use the ladder. I knew that cats could jump down from heights without a problem, but truth to be told, in my new life I was slightly afraid of heights and it seemed I still brought that trait to this world.

"Come here, Black Currant!" he said from below.

"I can't," I said.

"Just jump down from there like you usually do!" he said.

"No, I'm afraid," I said.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked. "Do you want me to carry you down?"

I wanted to accept his offer, but my pride refused. So, I shook my head, tried to gather courage, and jumped down the trap door. The fall felt scary for me, but somehow my body moved by itself into landing position and I landed on the ground perfectly.

"I did it!" I said with excitement.

"Let's have fun," he said.

So, both of us played around with Nature's Blessing until we got tired and lied down on the ground. The bright sunlight together with the summer breeze felt so relaxing for both of us. I almost fell asleep when he started to speak to me.

"It's really a nice day right, Black Currant?" he said.

"Yeah whatever," I said, which didn't matter because no matter what I said he would only hear a mew.

"Hey, Black Currant..." he said.

"What?" I asked.

"I want to say that..." he said, pausing briefly. "I'm happy to have you with me."

"Huh? What do you mean?" I asked, looking at him.

"I'm happy to have you as my only friend," he said. "I know that there are other kids out there, but I'm afraid to meet them."

"Don't be afraid like that, silly," I said.

"Anybody won't be a friend to a weird kid who makes weird devices," he said.

"That was the worst thought I ever had, and you shouldn't keep it as well," I said. "Get it off from your head."

"And this kind of clothing, yeah right," he said, looking at his black-white shirt.

"Hey, I remember Huck telling me that the shirt was the coolest ever," I said.

"Do you think I should gather courage and go to other kids?" he asked.

"Yeah of course, silly," I said.

"Heh, how silly I am, asking this to you," he said. "I know that you are smart, Black Currant. But all those things I said are probably too much for you."

"I don't know the real Black Currant, but it is me right now and I know what you should do," I said.

"I wish you could talk," he said.

"I wish you could understand me," I said.

"Anyway, let's return home. It's almost late," he said.

"Yeah fine," I said, and both of us walked home.

At night, I tried to sleep but the cat bed didn't feel comfortable. I was not used to sleeping on such bed in such body. I kept trying anyway, hoping that I would return to my world when I woke up at the next day.

My hope turned out to be futile. I woke up the next day still as the black cat. Like in the previous day, my past self gave me my breakfast and then he went into the working room. I quickly drank all the milk and followed him into the room. Inside the room, I saw him on his desk but unlike yesterday, instead of working on making a device it seemed like he was drawing something on paper.

"What are you drawing?" I asked.

"Oh, hey there, Black Currant," he said, turning to me. "Look at this."

He showed me the paper he had been drawing, and I noticed that on the paper there was a drawing of what I remembered as the old Falcon.

"You don't say..." I said.

"This is a spaceship. With this we can together go to the outer space," he said.

"You can't do that!" I shouted. "You will die trying to make that thing!"

"You are very excited as well right?" he said.

"Nonono!" I said, shaking my head and then taking a piece of paper along with a pen from a nearby shelf. I then tried to write a warning to him, but like before cat paws were not made to write.

"What are you trying to write this time?" he asked as I finished writing. "Don't... you will... die?"

"Yes!" I said, nodding.

"Why will I die?" he asked. "You don't say that... I will accidentally make it explode or something and die?"

"Exactly!" I said, nodding.

"Oh, so you're worried about me," he said. "Don't worry. I'll do it carefully."

After saying those lines, he left the house to start making the thing which would kill him soon. I was not so sure, but maybe the fate would change because of me telling him those things. Maybe he would be more careful than I had been, and the accident would not happen. I was still worried, though, so I followed him to the backyard.

Over the next hours, I watched him making the old Falcon, keeping all my attention on what he was doing every minute. Somehow my ability to make devices had returned since the moment I got into this world, so I could understand what my past self was doing. I also knew that he currently was working on the most dangerous part of the engine, which had killed me in the past.

"Alright, now comes the hard part," he said, carefully assembling parts into the engine. I watched him closely, hoping that this time he would not make the same mistake as I had done.

Again, my hope was futile. He shorted out the engine and he didn't realize it. The engine would blow up violently soon and it would kill him like how it had done to me.

"GET AWAY!" I shouted, running towards him. I just couldn't let it happen again. He still had a bright future awaiting, and I wouldn't want a mere accident to keep him away from that. I then jumped to him and pushed him away from Falcon with all my strength. He got thrown to a safe distance, but immediately the engine exploded, hitting me hard that I got thrown away.

"Black Currant!" I could hear my past self screaming as I was still in mid air.

_Oh yeah_  
_I remember now _  
_Indeed I had a cat _  
_Black Currant..._  
_He was with me _  
_Before the accident_

_I totally forgot about him _  
_The shock from the explosion _  
_Made me forget about him _  
_That's why..._

_But..._  
_Why he never came back to me?_  
_What happened to him after the accident?_

After having those thoughts, my vision was blinded by bright light. Once I regained my vision, I was already back in my room in my world. I was still at crawling position, but the blackout had ended so I stood up and went downstairs, where everyone else were.

"Was there a blackout?" I asked as I stepped down the stairs.

"Blackout? What blackout?" my brother asked back.

"There was no blackout," my mother said.

"I see..." I said.

"Why asking that?" my father asked.

"Maybe... I was dreaming again," I said, walking through the living room towards the kitchen. As I said those, suddenly things started to come into my head. It felt like new memories of my previous life, and I could see myself along with the maroon-hair Strawberry.

"Everybody deserves a second chance," a voice I remembered was heard in my mind.

"Thank you... Father," I said in my mind, looking upwards.

Maybe it's time to write new journals...

-End of Prologue-


	2. Chapter 1

This, is the beginning of my second journal. A journal written from a twist of fate. A journal which is not supposed to exist because I was supposed to be already dead by the time the events written in this journal happen. However, a second chance at life has been given by The Creator so I could exist within them and write this second journal.

Before I begin for real, first I have to say that I will never figure out what actually had happened to Black Currant after the explosion hit me. My memory of that accident has been replaced with Black Currant sacrificing his life to save mine. After that accident I buried him at the backyard and I mourned for nearly a week. Another point is that the event where I had healed my past self from the fatal wound has never happened. After leaving the Alternate Strawberryland the chapter skipped straight to the end. Other than those, along with a few moments of recalling Black Currant instead of wondering why I had not had a pet, the rest of the first journal still remains correct.

Now where should I start again...? Okay, I think I will start from the beginning of the first journal's epilogue.

Chapter 1: False Epilogue

Like how it had disappeared, Albatross reappeared with a flash of light. Below, I could see that we were flying above the wood between my house and Huck's fort, and the wood had become creepy and scary like how I remembered, which meant that we had arrived in the past, or maybe I should say the present. I then piloted Albatross to land on the outfield of Strawberryland. Coincidentally, two friends we knew were walking there when we arrived. They were Blueberry and Rainbow, and they remained unchanged although noticeably taller.

"Alright, welcome to the present," I said. Opening the canopy. "We have been missing for four years, so prepare for a reunion."

All of us then jumped out from Albatross, and as expected, the two girls looked at us in disbelief.

"Strawberry Shortcake...?" Blueberry asked.

"Is that really you...?" Rainbow asked.

"Why yes, it's me!" Strawberry said. "Have I been missing for so long?"

"Long? Four years is absoloo-tely long!" Blueberry said, jumping to Strawberry to hug her.

"You sure have changed, mateys," Rainbow said, looking at Strawberry and the others.

"Yep, a lot of things have happened and I bet we all can't wait to tell everyone about it, am I right?" Ginger said. "Let's call everyone to the clubhouse for a huge big reunion party, shall we, huh everyone?"

"That's a nice idea!" Angel said.

"Yeah, I agree with that," Orange said.

"Well, why not?" Peppermint said.

"Apple Dumplin' likes to tell stories!" Apple said.

"I'll park Albatross at my home first then," I said. "I'll meet you later."

"Okay, see you later," Huck said as I rode into Albatross and flew away.

"Well, maybe you can start telling us some stories while walking?" Rainbow asked as the group started to walk towards the clubhouse.

"Well, it all started when Blackberry made another new flying car," Angel said.

"Is that the one he just brought away?" Blueberry asked.

"Well, not exactly," Huck said. "It has the same name, though."

"Save that for later, matey. For now I want to know where you have been missing," Rainbow said.

"Well, we have been staying in a place called The Land of Oz," Strawberry said as the group kept walking.

Meanwhile, I arrived at my home to park Albatross near the spots where I believed Falcon and Blackbird were parked. I landed it successfully and jumped out from it. However, before walking towards the clubhouse, I walked towards a patch of land a few steps away from the back of my house. On the ground there, there was a small mound covered in green grass and on top of the mound there was a small gravestone with the words "Black Currant" carved on it. I kneeled with one knee in front of the gravestone and mused for a few seconds.

"Hi, Black Currant." I said. "It has been a very long time since my last visit," I continued, changing my stance from kneeling into sitting cross-legged. "Sorry that I have been missing for so long," I paused for a few seconds. "I have been staying in a place called The Land of Oz. There were so many things happened during my stay there, and I met a lot of new friends!" I paused again. "But I still didn't forget you..."

There was another pause for some seconds. "I'm still very grateful for what you did at that time. Without your sacrifice, I wouldn't be here now, and I wouldn't have met my friends."

I mused again, and then I stood up. I looked at my watch and realized that I had spent too much time visiting Black Currant's grave. My friends were surely waiting for me to come, and I must not waste any more time. So, I immediately went into my house and picked a familiar wing-shaped badge from my shelves. I then put the badge on my shirt and jumped out from the window. The badge still worked well in making my body lighter, and with ease I jumped high and fast towards the clubhouse.

I arrived at the front of the clubhouse in the next minute. I then took the badge off from my shirt and put it into my pocket. After that I opened the door of the clubhouse and saw that the rest of Strawberryland kids were already there. The ones who had not been gone has not changed much, they had become noticeably taller but none of them changed their outfit. I could notice that the ones who had been gone has reunited with their pets and were overjoyed.

"You're late, Blackberry. What took you so long?" Peppermint asked. "We've spent a lot of time with our pets. We're so happy that we can meet them again."

"Peppermint!" Strawberry said, gently hitting Peppermint's arm with her elbow.

"What's the matter?" Peppermint asked. She then looked at me and her face expression suddenly changed. She seemed to realize something.

"Oh..." she said. "I'm sorry... I really forgot about Black Currant..."

"That's fine, never mind. So, now what are we going to do?" I asked.

"How about telling us all about The Land of Oz?!" Raspberry asked.

"Well, I guess it's Blackberry's turn to tell the tale then," Huck said.

"Huh? Why me?" I asked.

"Well, you see, each and everyone of us didn't get to know much about the whole land because we are so busy leading our people, am I right? Okay, I have been in some amazing places, Huckleberry has seen other amazing places, Strawberry and Apple has seen some other amazing places, Angel Cake has seen yet some other amazing places, Orange Blossom has also seen other amazing places, and Peppermint has seen other amazing places, am I right again?" Ginger said.

"Yeah, that's true..." I said.

"But you're the only one who has been everywhere!" Angel said.

"I have seen the Rainbowberry Lake, but I have never seen The Sun Temple," Orange said.

"I have been in Tropical Island, but I have never been in The Raining Woods," Strawberry said.

"Okay, I get the point," I said. "Indeed I have been everywhere, but I went everywhere mostly because I was looking for special materials to make Albatross what it is now. The sceneries were nice indeed, but those were not my main focus so I don't remember much."

"But you do know a thing or two about those places right?" Peppermint said.

"That's true," I said.

"That's why you are the best to start telling tales. You know about Oz as a whole!" Huck said.

"Don't worry, Blackberry. Just tell the basics and the rest of us will cover the details," Apple said.

"Okay, I will try," I said. I then sat on a nearby sofa and took a deep breath. "It all started when I made Albatross, a new flying car or airship or whatever we usually call it. I made it to travel to outer space."

"Is Albatross the one I and Blueberry saw just now?" Rainbow asked.

"No. Albatross was destroyed in The Land of Oz. The one you saw was the new one I made," I replied.

"Destroyed? How come?" Lemon asked.

"We got sucked into a Black Hole," I answered and everyone gasped, except those who had experienced it.

"Did you just say Black Hole? The mysterious hole in space which sucks anything nearby, and those who enter will never get out?" Blueberry asked.

"Yes," I answered and everyone gasped again. "With some luck we managed to get out from it. However, the engine exploded because of overworking."

"What happened then?" Plum asked.

"No choice other than crash landing to the nearest planet," I answered.

"I suppose you landed in The Land of Oz, right?" Apricot asked.

"That's right. Remaking Albatross took four years, but we got to meet many of the inhabitants there, and everyone except me ended up becoming the leader of a region," I said.

"What took you so long?" Raspberry asked.

"I didn't bring my handy tools, and the technology in Oz is too limited," I said.

"Okay, I see that. So, what kind of inhabitants live there?" Raspberry asked again.

"Well, besides the few humans there are berrykins," I replied. "Strawberry and Apple lead them."

"Berrykins?" Rainbow asked. "How do they look like?"

"Well, think of our berry ball with two small arms, two small legs, and a head," Strawberry said.

"The berrykins are so cute Apple Dumplin' loves them berry much," Apple said.

"Then, Angel Cake lead the berry fairies," I said.

"Berry fairies? Like the ones living near Strawberryland?" Raspberry asked.

"Not precisely the same but... pretty much like those," Angel said.

"Ginger Snap got to lead the berry sprites," I said.

"There's almost no difference between the berry fairies and berry sprites! Yep, almost none at all! The only way to know the difference is that the berry sprites have pointy ears while the berry fairies have round ears just like us, am I right?" Ginger said.

"That's right. Then, Orange had the berry elves under her command," I said.

"The berry elves are larger than berrykins, berry fairies, and berry sprites, but still smaller than us. They are playful and lively, but many of them are ignorant and love to play pranks," Orange said.

"But thanks to you they no longer do those mean pranks anymore, Orange Blossom," Strawberry said.

"Moving on, Huckleberry took care of the berry dwarves," I said.

"Man, those dwarves sure are tough, even though they are only half our size!" Huck said. "Not to mention that they are so short tempered!"

"And it was thanks to you that they learned to control their temper," I said.

"Hey, I didn't do much. They learned it themselves!" Huck said.

"I don't think so. Anyway, last but not least, Peppermint became the leader of berry spiders," I said.

"Spiders?" Plum asked.

"Yes. Spiders," Peppermint said. "They are just like the spiders we see here in Strawberryland, but they are as big as the berry ball and they are as colorful as berries."

"That sounds... strange," Apricot said. "I don't really like how it sounds."

"Why strange? They are friendly and helpful!" Peppermint said. "Not to mention that the place where they live is very fun!"

"She's afraid of spiders. We can't blame her," Plum said.

"Hmph, alright then. Fine," Peppermint said, and I could see that she was a bit upset.

The storytelling continued for a very long time because there were so many things to tell about. Without our knowing, it was nightfall already.

"Well, now that we have told you everything, it's your turn to tell tales," I said.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Plum asked.

"Anything special happened while we were away?" I asked back.

"Well, nothing happened actually," Blueberry said. "Without Strawberry, Strawberryland doesn't feel like... Strawberryland."

"Yeah, there hasn't been anything special," Lemon said.

"If this counts, sometimes the friends from outside Strawberryland came to visit," Raspberry said.

"But there was nothing much to do," Apricot said. "Strawberryland has been so uncool without you, Strawberry. And everyone else as well!"

"Alright, everyone. We're sorry for being away for so long. It was all my fault," I said.

"No, it was not your fault!" Peppermint said.

"Yes it was!" I replied. "I brought you into all those."

"Stop blaming yourself, Blackberry. The most important thing is that we are here now, safe and sound. Nobody is going to blame you, right everyone?" Strawberry said, and everyone replied with a sure nod. I was speechless for a moment.

"Thanks everyone..." I said.

"Oh yes, I want to ask about this too," Huck said. "Have Purple Pie Man and Sour Grapes ever come here again while we were away?"

"No, we have not seen them since the last time they were here. Wasn't that the time when he held me in my own boat?" Rainbow said.

"Heh, I would rather not remember that," Peppermint said.

"Me too, that was so uncool," Apricot said.

"That's a relief," I said. "But that's also a bit strange. I mean, he wants the berries here so badly so it sounds strange if he never came here for four years."

"I get what you mean, but we shouldn't worry about that no good Pie Man," Peppermint said.

"Okay, maybe you're right," I said.

"Look at the time! It's almost bedtime already!" Plum said, looking at the clock within the clubhouse.

"You're absoloootely right. I think it's time to go home," Blueberry said.

"I think so too," Lemon said.

"I believe we all have told our tales anyway," Raspberry said.

Soon, with proper farewell everybody in the clubhouse left the place. I walked together with Strawberry, Apple, Angel, Orange, Ginger, Huck, and Peppermint.

"By the way, Strawberry. Do you have any plans for tomorrow?" I asked.

"Well, not yet. Why is that, Blackberry?" Strawberry asked back.

"I'm thinking of visiting some other friends we have not met yet tomorrow. Do you want to come with me?" I said.

"That's a berry great idea! Of course I will come with you!" Strawberry said in excitement.

"Others can come with me as well," I said, looking at the others.

"Sure! I will go too!" Angel said.

"Hey hey hey! Count me in, will ya?" Ginger said.

"Why not?" Orange said.

"You won't need to ask me twice," Huck said.

"Apple Dumplin' wants to go too!" Apple said.

"That sorta sounds interesting," Peppermint said.

"That's settled then," I said. "Meet me tomorrow morning at my house. See you tomorrow."

After I said those, I put the wing badge on my shirt and jumped away from the group. I arrived at my house within the next minute and soon I went to sleep. Before falling asleep, I wondered for a while. My house had been deserted for four years, but there was no sign of such thing such as dust or spider webs. It seemed that someone had been taking care of my house while I had been away.

At the next day, I woke up in the morning. After having breakfast I went to the backyard where all my vehicles were parked. Using the remotes I brought along, I put all my vehicles out from their invisibility, except Albatross which didn't have invisibility to begin with. As expected, Falcon and Blackbird were covered in dust, but Arrowhead, which also had no invisibility, was clean. That meant someone indeed had been taking care of my house while I had been away.

"Whoever did this, I must say thanks," I said to myself.

"Good morning, Blackberry!" a familiar voice greeted from behind.

"Good morning, Strawberry, and everyone as well," I greeted back, seeing that she came together with the others.

"Have you been waiting for us?" Orange asked.

"No, I was just looking at all my vehicles," I replied.

"Oh yeah! I remember that you had two other flying cars other than the new one you made in Oz, am I right? What was the name of the other two? Falcon and Blackbird, am I right again?" Ginger said.

"So, which one we're gonna use?" Angel asked.

"Albatross is the only one having enough seats for all of us, so Albatross it is," I answered, and all of us went onboard Albatross.

"Where are we going first?" Huck asked as I started the engine.

"Well, I'm thinking of visiting the closest one first," I said. "That means Coco Calypso."

"That's a berry nice idea!" Strawberry said.

"I second that," Peppermint said.

"Apple Dumplin' likes to visit Coco!" Apple said.

"Others agree?" I asked, and everyone else replied with agreement. "Okay, let's go."

I then flew Albatross towards the Seaberry Shore where Coco Calypso lived. The flight only lasted for a few minutes, and soon I landed Albatross on the beach near Coco's house. After I turned the engine off, I opened the canopy and jumped out, followed by everyone else.

"Coco Calypso!" Strawberry shouted, calling in excitement. However, there was no answer.

"I think we should just walk there and knock the door," Peppermint said.

"Yeah sorry, I was berry berry excited," Strawberry said. So, we all walked to Coco's house and knocked the door. Once again, there was no answer.

"Maybe she's visiting Seaberry?" Orange said.

"I don't think so," I said. "We all know that it is impossible for anyone other than Seaberry herself to go there, except if we use my Falcon."

"Coco, are you there?" Strawberry said, knocking the door again. She then tried opening the door, and it turned out that the door was not locked.

"Shall we go in?" I asked.

"Let's try it," Huck said. Strawberry then opened the door wide, and we were shocked by what we saw next. The room inside the house was a complete mess. The sofa was flipped over, the table was not much better, fruits on the table had been thrown all over the place. It seemed that there had been a fight or such in there.

"What happened here?" Angel asked.

"Whoa, the house is a very very very big mess! Yep it sure is!" Ginger commented.

"Hello, anybody home?" Strawberry shouted.

"The fruits thrown around are still fresh. Whatever happened here, it happened not long ago," I said.

"Hey, I found someone!" Orange shouted from behind a flipped sofa.

"Coco?" Strawberry asked.

"No," Orange replied. "It's Papaya Parrot."

All of us immediately went to Orange and found Papaya Parrot lying on the floor, fainted. We then put a sofa back into good position and put papaya there. A few minutes later, the parrot woke up.

"AARGH! HELP!" Papaya Parrot jumped and shouted in panic.

"Calm down, Papaya Parrot! It's me! Strawberry Shortcake!" Strawberry said.

"Strawberry Shortcake? The others too! Am I glad to see you all again!" Papaya said.

"What have happened here?" Peppermint asked.

"It was so scary! Me and Coco were having our breakfast, and suddenly it came! We thought we were in danger, and we were! See what I mean?!" Papaya said.

"Uhh, not exactly, not precisely..." Strawberry said.

"Not at all," Peppermint said.

"She's been kidnapped!" Papaya shouted, which shocked all of us.

"Kidnapped? Who kidnapped her?" Angel asked.

"It was a man!" Papaya said.

"Purple Pie Man?" Angel asked.

"Tell us how that man looked like," I said.

"Ohh that man was scary! I remember his tall hat and long black coat, and I was so scared! Coco struggled against him and I also tried to stop him, but with just one hit from his hand I got thrown to the wall and I don't remember anything more!" Papaya said.

"Tall hat and black coat? That doesn't sound like Pie Man," Peppermint said.

"That's because he is not Pie Man," I said. "He is worse than Pie Man."

"What? Who?" she asked.

"Don't tell me that Coco has been kidnapped by..." Strawberry said.

"I'm afraid it's true, Strawberry," Orange said.

"Licorice Whip!" I shouted. "You will not get away with this!"

-End of Chapter 1-


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Chase

"Licorice Whip? The horsenapper you once told me about?" Peppermint asked.

"That's right," I said. "It seems that he has returned."

"Oh man, that guy again," Huck said.

"Coco is in danger! We have to help her!" Strawberry said, seeming very worried.

"Yeah, we must hurry!" Angel said.

"I know! But we have no idea where Licorice has gone to," I said. "I don't even know why he kidnapped Coco."

"Alright alright, everyone step away and give me room to think, will ya?" Ginger said while walking around. "Hmm, we all know that the no good Licorice Whip needs horses for his circus, am I right? That's why he wanted the horses on Ice Cream Island, am I right again?"

"That's true," Orange said.

"But now it is much much harder for him to get the horses, am I right? That's because Raven now guards the island and he encourages the horses there to stand against him whenever he comes, am I right again?" Ginger said.

"That's also right. But I was glad that he never returned and they have never had to fight him," Angel said.

"Hey, don't tell me that..." I said, realizing something.

"What is it, Blackberry?" Strawberry asked.

"He's probably going to use Coco to capture the horses," I replied, which made everyone other than Ginger gasped.

"Yep, you're absolutely right. Either threatening the horses using Coco as hostage, or using Coco to deceive the horses, either way he's going to capture the horses on Ice Cream Island again!" Ginger said.

"No, we can't let that happen!" Strawberry said

"We have to go to Ice Cream Island and stop him!" Huck said.

"Everyone, to Albatross!" I said, starting to run towards where I had parked Albatross. Everyone else followed except Strawberry.

"Papaya, you should stay and rest. You're hurt," Strawberry said.

"But I..." Papaya said before Strawberry interrupted.

"We will bring Coco back. I promise," Strawberry said.

"Oh... Okay... But you must bring her back!" Papaya said.

"We will!" Strawberry said, starting to catch us up. Once she got onboard Albatross, I closed the canopy and started the engine. Then with high speed Albatross flew towards Ice Cream Island. We then arrived there in less than one minute, and I immediately landed on one open field. We then jumped off Albatross and looked around. The island seemed peaceful like nothing bad had ever happened.

"Hey, kids! I haven't seen you for years!" A familiar voice greeted us.

"Raven!" Strawberry shouted in joy as Raven approached us from above.

"I heard from other kids that all of you have been mysteriously missing. Where have you been? And what about this amazing new flying vehicle?" Raven asked.

"Well, it's a long story," Huck said. "But this is not the right time to talk about that!"

"Huh? What happened?" Raven asked.

"What? Nothing bad happened here?" Angel asked.

"No, this island has been as peaceful as ever," Raven replied. "What's wrong?"

Immediately, I realized that we had made a wrong conclusion. Licorice had kidnapped Coco not to use her to capture the horses on the island, but for a different reason.

"To put it simply, your boss has returned and he has kidnapped our friend Coco Calypso," I said, which surprised him.

"What?! He kidnapped Coco?! Spumoni won't be happy to hear this!" he said.

"Spumoni?" Orange asked.

"Well, you know that every once in a while Coco and Seaberry come to visit this island, right? While you all were missing, one horse grew to like Coco very much that ever since then they became very close! Not only that, Seaberry also got Pistachio to like her!" Raven said.

"Alright, we understand. But now that we have thought it wrong, what should we do?" Peppermint asked everyone else.

"I think our best bet is to return to Coco's house and rethink about it," I said, and everyone else agreed.

"Raven, let us know immediately if he comes here with Coco," I said as everyone else got onboard Albatross.

"Ok, do your best to get her back!" Raven said. I nodded and went to follow everyone else. Within the next minute, we arrived at Seaberry shore again. After we jumped off, to our surprise, we noticed Seaberry sitting on a stone and weeping. We then immediately approached her.

"Seaberry! What happened?" Strawberry asked. Seaberry then lifted her face and I could notice a deep sadness on her face.

"Strawberry? Is that you?" Seaberry asked.

"Yes, it's me! Tell us what happened!" Strawberry said, and then Seaberry hugged her crying.

"He took them away from me!" Seaberry said.

"Them? He kidnapped someone else besides Coco?" Huck asked.

"Not only Coco, but the mermaids as well!" Seaberry said, still hugging Strawberry and crying.

"Mermaids?" Peppermint asked. "The ones who look just like some of you?"

"I think that's right," I said.

"Please calm down, Seaberry. Could you tell us what happened?" Strawberry asked.

"Okay..." Seaberry said, still sobbing a bit. "I was playing together with the mermaids under the sea when we heard someone calling from above."

"Under the sea? How can you play with mermaids under the sea? I mean, how can you breathe?" Peppermint asked.

"I... can breathe underwater with the help of a magical stone," Seaberry said. "I have never told anyone because it makes me... too different."

"Okay, sorry for the interruption," Peppermint said.

"I went to the surface to check first, and then I saw the horrible thing," Seaberry said.

"What was it?" Angel asked.

"It was a man on a ship, and next to him was Coco in an iron cage," Seaberry said.

"How horrible!" Orange said.

"He called me mermaid and told me to call other mermaids to come, or he would throw the cage into the water," Seaberry said.

"That was mean! Yep it sure was!" Ginger said.

"I panicked and went to the mermaids, and then I told them everything," Seaberry said.

"And then what did they say?" Apple asked.

"They realized that there were no choice, so they decided to do what he had said," Seaberry said. "Mermaid Seaberry told me to stay underwater."

"She took your place, or maybe we should say that you had taken her place at first and then she took it back?" Ginger asked. "But never mind!"

"From afar, the last thing I saw was the mermaids being put into sealed aquariums on the ship which sailed away..." Seaberry said and she started to cry again.

"The mermaids..." I said. "I didn't think about that. Mermaids will surely become a spectacular circus attraction."

"We have to chase Licorice Whip and save our friends!" Strawberry said.

"I know, but how can we chase him if we don't know where he is going to right now?" I said.

"Did you hear anything from him, Seaberry?" Angel asked.

"Oh, I think I heard him saying about going to his home first!" Seaberry said. "But that's all I could hear..."

"That doesn't make any difference. We don't know where that no good man lives," Peppermint said.

"No, it does make a difference," Strawberry said.

"What? How?" Orange asked.

"Yeah, Strawberry. Apple Dumplin' don't understand," Apple said.

"Oh, I see what you mean," I said. "Raven definitely knows where he lives."

"Well then, to Albatross again?" Huck asked.

"Let me go with you!" Seaberry said. "Coco is my friend too, and I have to save her!"

"Ok, let's go everyone!" I said, and immediately we all got onboard Albatross. At that time I was glad that Albatross had enough seats for nine people besides myself. Soon, I started the engine and we arrived back at Ice Cream Island within the next minute. After landing and jumping out from Albatross, Raven approached us from above like before.

"Hey kids! Did you made it?" Raven asked.

"No, but now we need your help," I said.

"Huh? What is it?" he asked, and then I told him everything. "I see, then he must be going to Licorice Lagoon."

"Licorice Lagoon?" Strawberry asked.

"Yeah, like its name, it's a lagoon and it's located quite far from here," Raven said.

"Which way?" I asked.

"Well, it's kinda hard to explain. It's been years since the last time I have been there and I'm starting to forget," Raven said.

"Please, we need your help to save Coco!" Strawberry said.

"Maybe you can come with us to show us the way?" Huck suggested.

"That's a good idea," Raven said.

"Then let's hurry," I said, and all of us went onboard Albatross. Raven sat on my shoulder so he could show the way while I pilot the airship. However, because Raven had nearly forgotten the way for real, the flight to Licorice Lagoon took hours. By the time we arrived, it was already late afternoon.

"There it is!" Raven said, pointing below. Indeed there was a lagoon there with hills surrounding most of the inner side, while at the outer side the lagoon is separated from the sea by a barrier island, although not fully separated. There was a channel between the barrier island and the mainland, wide enough for a ship to go through into the lagoon. All the lands around the lagoon, including the barrier island, were green with plants and the water were blue. Together, they created a very beautiful scenery.

"Umm, are you sure this is the place?" Peppermint asked, looking at the lagoon below.

"Yes, why is that?" Raven asked.

"It's kinda hard to believe," Angel said, also looking at the lagoon.

"Yeah, I honestly can't believe such a mean man lives in such a beautiful place," Huck said.

"Oh, that's because of his daughter," Raven said, which surprised everyone else.

"Whoa whoa whoa, did you just say 'his daughter'? That no good mean horsenapper has a daughter? My, this sure is shocking, yep it sure is!" Ginger said.

"Well, I have to say that she's not really his daughter. He kinda adopted her," Raven said.

"Okay, I know we are now wondering a lot of things, but we have to save the details for later and save Coco now," I said.

"Oh yes, you're right!" Orange said.

"So, where does he live exactly?" I asked.

"See that small beach over there?" Raven said, pointing. Indeed there was a small beach at the inner side of the lagoon. I also could see a small pier and a cabin near it.

"That cabin, right?" I asked.

"That's right," Raven said. I then flew Albatross towards the pier. There was no ship anywhere on the lagoon, so I could assume that Licorice Whip was either not arrived yet or had already gone again. I then landed Albatross on the water next to the pier, and soon everyone jumped out from Albatross to the pier.

"Let's check the house out," I said. Everyone agreed and then we all walked towards the cabin. When we get close, suddenly the front door opened and a girl came out. The girl was a bit older than Apple Dumplin'. She wore brown beret hat with a muffin-shaped ornament on it. She had short straight brown hair, and I could see that her eyes are brown as well. Her clothing in general implied that she was themed around brown and light brown color.

"Who's there?" the girl asked. Before we could say anything, Raven approached her.

"It's me, Cinnamon. Don't you remember me?" Raven asked.

"Raven? Is that really you?" the girl said, then she jumped in excitement. "Raven! I'm so happy to see you again! Give me a hug!"

"You have grown so big since the last time I saw you," Raven said as the girl hugged her.

"And you haven't changed at all!" the girl said. "And I see that you didn't come here alone."

"Ah yes," Raven said as the girl let go of her hug. "Everyone, meet Cinnamon Muffin. Daughter of Licorice Whip."

"Hi, Cinnamon," Strawberry said.

"Oh, I have to tell you one thing," Raven said. "She was born blind."

"What? She doesn't look so," Peppermint said.

"This might sound strange for you all, but I gain sight everytime the moon and the sun are together in the sky," Cinnamon said, and all of us looked to the sky. Indeed the moon was there together with the sun.

"That means every night it's total darkness for you?" Angel asked.

"That's right," Cinnamon said, smiling. "But don't feel bad for me. I'm already used to it!"

"You're strong," Orange said.

"Yeah, I would feel much worse if I were you," Huck said.

"Speaking of bad, my father did it again," Cinnamon said, and her face turned from happy to sad. "He brought here a girl in a cage, put the cage in locked basement, and left just like that!"

"That's Coco!" Seaberry said.

"You know her?" Cinnamon asked.

"She's our friend! She's the reason we come here!" I said.

"Take us to her, please!" Strawberry said.

"Well, I'd like to, but the basement is locked and my father brought the key with him," Cinnamon said.

"Just take us there, will you?" Peppermint said.

"Alright," Cinnamon said. "Please come in."

We then entered the cabin together. The inside of the cabin was neat and well-furnished, but because our main focus was Coco we didn't pay much attention. Cinnamon brought us to a staircase leading to the basement. At the end of the staircase I could see a closed door. Because the staircase was narrow, only I, Cinnamon, and Seaberry went into the staircase.

"This is the basement," Cinnamon said.

"Coco! Are you there? Can you hear me?" Seaberry shouted, knocking the door hard.

"Seaberry? Is that you?" a familiar voice answered from inside.

"Yes, we came here for you!" Seaberry shouted.

"Alright, I'll open the door," I said, taking Key Master from my pocket. I then inserted the device into the door's keyhole, and with a clicking sound the door opened. We then entered the room and we saw Coco in a cage. The cage was quite small that even though Coco was not tied up she couldn't move around much. The cage was not even tall enough for her to stand up, so she had to sit down. Once again, with Key Master I opened the lock of the cage and Seaberry opened it. The two then had a big hug.

"I thought I have lost you," Seaberry said.

"Me too," Coco said.

Because Coco had been locked in a small cage for hours, she didn't feel well about her body. Cinnamon then lent her bedroom for Coco to rest, and Seaberry kept her company. The rest of us gathered in the living room where there were enough chairs and sofa for us to sit.

"She's resting now," Cinnamon said as she approached us. "Thank you for your help."

"It is us who must thank you," I said. "You showed us where she was held."

"If I haven't, you would have forced your way in anyway," Cinnamon said, sitting down next to me on a sofa.

"You know, if Raven hasn't said it I would have not believed that you're his daughter," Angel said. "I mean, you're so nice and kind to us."

"Yeah, you're so different than your father," Peppermint said.

"I don't want to talk bad about your father, but look at what he has just done," Huck said.

"I know," Cinnamon said. "I wanted to stop him, but I owe him my life."

"Owe him your life?" Strawberry asked.

"Maybe I should tell my tale," Cinnamon said. "When I was very little, I had no friend. Other kids didn't like me at all because I was too different,"

"Because of your eyes?" Apple asked.

"That was one reason, but the main reason was..." Cinnamon said, pausing for a moment. "Because I was nice and kind. Other kids saw that as disgusting."

"What?! What kind of kids would think like that?!" Peppermint said, seeming surprised and upset.

"That was the truth," Cinnamon said. "Ah, sorry. A minute," she continued, and then she put on a pair of sunglasses. "The sun has set. I'm now blind again."

"It must have been so hard for you," Orange said.

"That's right. But one day, he came to me and asked if I liked circus," Cinnamon said. "I said yes, and then he told me that he owned a circus and he was looking for someone to help him running it."

"A circus of stolen animals," Peppermint said.

"I didn't know that at that time. He offered me the place, and I accepted it gladly. He then brought me to this place where I have been living until now," Cinnamon said.

"When did you know that he is not a good person?" I asked.

"Around five years ago," Cinnamon replied. "He brought stolen horses, and I was against it. But then I realized that I couldn't oppose him. He brought me here to this beautiful place and he has been taking good care of me. What a faithless daughter I am if I ever do that."

"And then what happened to the horses, huh?" Ginger asked.

"He left bringing them saying about getting more, and a week later he came back bringing none. He said that some meddling kids, including Raven, had taken them from him," Cinnamon said, and everyone else seemed to realize that the 'meddling kids' were themselves. "Ah, I see that most of you are the kids."

"Huh? How did you know?" Angel asked.

"I heard some gasps, and then some of you had increased heartbeats," Cinnamon said.

"You could hear those?" Apple asked.

"Whenever I become blind, my hearing dramatically improves," Cinnamon replied. "Moving on, I was glad because the poor horses were free, but I was also sad that I have lost my only friend."

"You mean... me?" Raven asked, and Cinnamon nodded. "Sorry..."

"It's all right, Raven. You did the right thing," Cinnamon said. "There's no need to feel bad about it."

"What happened after that?" Strawberry asked. "I know he came again once and caused flood to the island, but after it was over I have never heard anything about him again."

"He came home angry, speaking about getting revenge someday," Cinnamon replied. "But I convinced him to calm down and rest for a while. We have been living peacefully for some years afterwards, until he saw them."

"Them?" Angel asked.

"The mermaids," Cinnamon replied. "We were fishing together on our ship when he saw mermaids on a distance. I had sight at that time and I saw the mermaids too."

"Let me guess, the thought about making a circus of mermaids suddenly came to him, am I right?" Ginger said.

"That was one," Cinnamon said. "But he also said that one mermaid looked just like one of the meddling kids, and that reminded him of his old anger."

"That would be Mermaid Strawberry," I said. "Anyway, we have to save the mermaids now. Do you know where he is headed?"

"He said about going to reopen his circus in his birthplace, which is also my birthplace," Cinnamon said.

"Where is that?" I asked.

"Porcupine Peak," Cinnamon said, which greatly surprised everyone else.

"What?! That place?" Peppermint said.

"Isn't that also the hometown of Purple Pie Man and Sour Grapes?" Orange asked.

"It sure is," Huck said.

"Apple Dumplin' does not like the sound of that," Apple said.

"We should go right now!" Angel said.

"No, wait!" Cinnamon said. "It's late already. You all should rest first."

"Yeah, I think you're right," I said. "There's no use trying to save them if we are too tired."

After the conversation, everyone agreed to rest for the night. Because of the lack of enough beds, some of us had to sleep either on a sofa or on the floor with carpet. I could sense that the next day would be a long day.

-End of Chapter 2-


	4. Chapter 3 Prologue

Chapter 2.5: Sunrise

I couldn't sleep well that night. I had to sleep on the floor because there were not enough beds and sofa for everyone. Sleeping on the floor gave me unexpected backache, which woke me up when it was still fairly dark. I looked at my watch and realized that there were only around 20 minutes left until sunrise, so I decided to wake up. I took my glasses from where I had put it the night before and quietly walked to the front door. Once I got outside, I exercised a bit and noticed that I was not alone. I saw Cinnamon Muffin sitting alone on the beach. I then approached her and sat next to her.

"Good morning," I said.

"Good morning, Blackberry," she replied. "Did you sleep well?"

"Well..." I said, pausing a bit. "Not really to be honest. I got a bit of backache."

"Oh, sorry to hear that," she said.

"It's fine," I said. "By the way, do you wake up this early everyday?"

"Not always, but pretty often," she replied.

"I see," I said. There was a silence for few seconds, and then she started to speak again.

"Blackberry, have you seen sunrise?" she asked. "Is sunrise beautiful?"

"Yes, definitely beautiful. Why is that?" I asked.

"I have never seen sunrise," she replied.

"Really? But if there's moon you should..." I said.

"I can gain sight from any kind of moon, whether it's crescent moon, half moon, or full moon as long as it is visible. But the sun has to be full," she said with a sigh.

"Oh, I see," I said.

"Even if there is moon, everytime I gain sight sunrise has already been over. I only can see early sun," she said with another sigh. "It's still beautiful, but for once I really want to see the real sunrise."

There was another silence after her last line. I then looked forward to the horizon. The barrier island was nearly as low as the sea level so the horizon could be seen without much obstruction. The color of the sky at that direction was very beautiful, and I felt bad that Cinnamon couldn't see the nice scenery. I then decided to help her with the device I had never told anyone about, which are my glasses. I took them off and gave them to Cinnamon.

"Here. Wear this," I said, putting my glasses on her hand.

"Isn't this... your glasses? Why should I?" she asked.

"Just try it," I said.

"Okay..." she said, and then she put it on. I then pressed a small button located at the frame, and she suddenly looked surprised.

"I... I can see?" she said. "But how...?"

"Well, it's hard to explain how it works. But to put it simply, the lenses see for you and the frames transfer what the lenses see into your brain," I said.

"I... I can't believe it. This is the first time I can see without the sun!" she said, looking excited.

"But don't get too excited. There's a problem with it," I said.

"What is it?" she asked.

"It depends on the person, but after a while you will start to feel dizzy. Keep using it and you will start having bad headache. If you insist on using it after that, you will eventually faint," I said.

"How long do I have then?" she asked.

"Like I said, it depends on the person. I start feeling dizzy after using it for 30 minutes. I have been using it only when the lights in my house broke down at night so I could see in the dark and find my flashlight," I said.

"Oh..." she said.

"Anyway, there's a more important thing now," I said. "Look there."

Cinnamon then looked to the direction I pointed, and for the first time ever in her life, she saw the sunrise. I could see her astonished face looking at the beautiful scenery she had never had the chance to see. I couldn't see much of the sunrise scenery though, because without my glasses I only could see blurred scenery. However, I felt that Cinnamon's happy face was the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen.

"Thank you... Blackberry..." she said, holding my hand and still looking at the sunrise.

-End of Chapter 2.5-


	5. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Entering Porcupine Peak

The sun had risen, and everyone inside the cabin in Licorice Lagoon were awake. Some who had to sleep on the floor complained about backache, but everything went normal. Not long after, we all gathered to have breakfast. From the sunglasses she was still wearing I could recognize that Cinnamon Muffin was still blind because there was no moon yet, but she amazed us with her ability to prepare breakfast for us without anyone's help.

"Here you go!" she said, putting a tray full with brown muffins on a table.

"What are these?" Angel asked.

"My namesake. Try it!" Cinnamon replied.

"These are cinnamon muffins?" Apple asked. "Apple Dumplin' has never seen these."

"But they sure smell berry nice," Strawberry said, taking one muffin and eating it. "Berry delicious!"

It didn't take long for everyone else to grab one muffin and eat it. I also ate one and I had to admit that Cinnamon was a very good cook. Everyone including me complimented on how delicious the muffins were, and she seemed very pleased.

"So, we will go right after this, won't we?" Huck said.

"Yeah, the sooner the better," Orange said. "We have to save the mermaids."

"But there is one problem," I said.

"Not another bad news," Peppermint said. "What is it anyway?"

"I don't know where Porcupine Peak is located," I said.

"Eh, doesn't your ship have a map?" Peppermint asked.

"Albatross doesn't have a map. It's Blackbird which has one," I said.

"Er, sorry to interrupt, but..." Cinnamon said. "It's not that easy to find Porcupine Peak."

"Why?" Strawberry asked.

"Porcupine Peak is located on an island. The island is far in the middle of the ocean, and it is not on the map," Cinnamon said.

"Not on the map?" Angel said.

"Yes, and to make it even harder to find, the island does not stay in one place," Cinnamon said. "It floats on the ocean like a huge boat, so waves, winds, and sea currents can carry it around."

"Really? Then how can your father find it?" I asked.

"My father has a special compass. Its needle always points towards the island, so he only needs to sail towards where the needle points to," Cinnamon said.

"Does that mean... There is no hope for us to save them?" Coco asked, looking very worried.

"Unless there's a duplicate of that compass, I'm afraid so..." Cinnamon said, bowing her head. "I'm sorry. I should have told you earlier."

"Wait!" I said, realizing something. "You said 'duplicate'?"

"Uh, yes..." Cinnamon said.

"I think I have a way," I said, walking towards the front door.

"Where are you going?" Seaberry asked.

"Wait here. I'll be back soon. Oh, and don't give up hope," I replied.

Everyone waited inside the cabin anxiously, having no clue on what I was going to do. Nobody spoke anything, so everything inside the cabin fell into deep silence. The silence was broken when twenty minutes later the front door opened and I came in. In the grip of my right hand I was holding a thing which looked like a compass. It had dark purple color and on its surface there was one needle under glass cover which kept pointing to a direction, which was not North.

"Cinnamon, is this the compass?" I asked, giving the thing I was holding in my right hand to Cinnamon. She then held the thing and examined it with her hands.

"Yes, this is it!" Cinnamon said. "But how?"

"Yeah, how did you get that compass?" Angel asked.

"Well, it's hard to explain. But I must say that it's not the one your father has. It's a duplicate," I said.

"Duplicate? But the scratch I accidentally made last month is here!" Cinnamon said, rubbing the bottom part of the compass.

"Perfect duplicate," I added, taking the compass back. "In any case, we should go right away."

"Wait! Let me go with you," Cinnamon said. "My father has done something horribly wrong, and I must make him realize it."

"We'd like to, but there are only nine passenger seats in Blackberry's ship, am I right? And there are ten of us besides Blackberry himself, am I right again?" Ginger said.

"No worries. I have thought of that while I was away," I said.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Angel asked as I walked outside. Everybody soon followed me towards where I had parked Albatross. I then opened the canopy and sat on the pilot seat. Everybody else looked at the space where the passenger seats were located. They were surprised that there were no seats at all there.

"Is this what you meant? No seats?" Peppermint said

"Without the seats, there's enough room for all of you to sit on the floor. Don't worry, it's still comfortable enough," I said.

"I see what you mean, but how can we buckle up if there's no seatbelt?" Peppermint asked.

"You don't need to. The gravity field will take care of everything," I said.

"If you say so, alright," Peppermint said, and everyone else entered the passenger space. I then closed the canopy and soon the ship's engine roared to life. Within the next minute the ship flew towards the direction pointed by the compass I held.

"Are we going yet?" Cinnamon asked.

"We're already flying, Cinnamon," Apple said.

"What? I don't feel anything," Cinnamon said.

"That's because of the gravity field," I said. "It makes you feel like this ship is not flying even though it is. Kinda complicated I know."

"Rather than that, I'm wondering what you actually did to get the compass," Huck said.

"Yeah, Blackberry. How did you get that?" Orange asked.

"Well, I went home to remove all the seats. Then..." I said.

"Then what? What did you do?" Coco asked.

"To put it simply, I travelled back through time and used Replicator on the compass," I said.

"Travelled back through time? You mean, you went to the time when Licorice was still at the lagoon and copied the compass using your copy gun? Is that what you mean, huh Blackberry?" Ginger asked, and I nodded.

"That's clever. But why didn't you instead bring us all back to before he kidnapped Coco and stop him from kidnapping her?" Huck asked. I sighed.

"This is why I didn't really want to tell how I got the compass," I said. "It's too complicated to explain and gives me headaches."

"Well," Strawberry said. "If we did that, then we would never meet Cinnamon, right? I think it's better this way."

"Yeah, I sorta agree with you," Peppermint said. "Anyway, how far are we from the island?"

"I have no idea. The compass only shows direction, not distance," I replied. "I just fly to wherever this compass points its needle."

The flight lasted for the next ten minutes until I saw something on a distance. It looked like a mountain surrounded by storm clouds.

"Cinnamon," I said.

"Yes?" she replied.

"I see an island with storm clouds above it. Do you think it's Porcupine Peak?" I asked.

"That's right," Cinnamon said. "Storm clouds always cover the island, but rain happens very rarely. Because of this, nothing can grow there."

"So that's our destination," I said, then suddenly Albatross crashed onto something unseen. The crash was so hard that everybody inside could feel the impact, even with the gravity field still activated. The ship then fell to the water below and ended up floating on the surface.

"Everybody okay?" Strawberry asked around.

"Yeah," Huck said.

"Pretty much," Angel said.

"Not really, and I will get worse if this kid doesn't get off me right now," Peppermint said, lying on the floor with Ginger lying on her body.

"Oh, sorry!" Ginger said, getting up.

"What just happened?" Cinnamon asked.

"I have no idea?" Orange said. "Blackberry?"

"I have no idea either," I said, opening the canopy and jumped to the ship's nose, which was badly damaged. I then tried reaching my right hand to the far front, and it touched something invisible. It felt like a hard wall. "Invisible barrier?"

"Invisible barrier? But this ship should be able to go through such thing, right? Like the one in the sky?" Peppermint asked.

"This is not the case," I said, getting back inside. "Limit in The Sky is just a pushing force field, but this one is a hard wall," I continued, turning on the monitor at the cockpit. A figure of the island appeared, and it was shown that the whole island up to one mile away was covered with a dome-shaped barrier. "Cinnamon, do you know about this?"

"Well, I'm not sure, but my father once told me that the island doesn't want 'good' to come if not accompanied by 'evil'," Cinnamon replied.

"Well, in other words, we can only get through the barrier if someone evil is near us, right?" I said.

"Then, how we're gonna go to the island?" Angel asked.

"I think the question is, 'How can we go anywhere?'," Huck said. "The crash damaged this ship badly. How's the ship, Blackberry?"

"Hmm..." I said, checking the ship's condition. "Many parts are damaged, but the ship can still fly."

"That's good to hear, but now we are back to the first question," Seaberry said.

"Well, the barrier covers the island like a dome, and it reaches underwater," I said, looking at the monitor again. "But not all the way to the bottom of the sea. There's a gap right at the bottom, wide enough for Albatross to go through."

"Then let's go through the gap!" Coco said.

"The problem is, this is Albatross, not Falcon. It can float like a boat but it cannot dive," I said.

"Not another problem..." Angel said.

"Um, Blackberry. Could you explain why this ship cannot dive?" Seaberry asked.

"Two causes," I replied. "First, the engine is not waterproof. Getting wet is still fine, but if submerged I can't promise anything. Second, our room here is not waterproof either. If the ship is submerged, we all will drown."

"That means, if we can keep the ship dry it will be fine, right?" she asked.

"That's right," I said. "Why asking that?"

"Seaberry, don't say that you're going to do that!" Coco said.

"What is 'that'?" Apple asked.

"Could you explain to us?" Strawberry asked.

"Yesterday I told you that I can breathe underwater thanks to a magic stone, right?" Seaberry said.

"That's right," Peppermint said.

"Two years ago, I learned that the magic stone was not the only source of my ability. There is magic inside myself as well. Both the magic stone and my own magic helped each other to give me the ability," Seaberry said.

"You have magic in yourself? Whoa, I've never heard of that!" Ginger said.

"After learning that, I thought of training the magic within me. I hoped that maybe I would be able to share my ability with my friends, so they could visit my house," Seaberry said.

"Did you succeed?" Orange asked.

"Yes, she did," Coco said. "She now can envelop my head in a large bubble so I can breathe while swimming underwater."

"So, maybe if I can envelop this ship it will be able to dive," Seaberry said.

"No! You can't do that!" Coco said.

"Why?" Seaberry asked.

"You know the reason yourself, Seaberry!" Coco replied. "You get tired everytime you use that on me, just so I can swim to your house! If you use that on this whole ship, I can't imagine what will happen to you!"

"Remember that we have to save the mermaids," Seaberry said.

"But..." Coco said.

"Don't worry about me, Coco," Seaberry said. "I will be fine."

"Please promise me that you'll be fine," Coco said.

"I promise," Seaberry said, then she looked at me. "Ready, Blackberry?"

"Let's see..." I said, checking the monitor. "It will take around one minute to dive into the bottom of the sea and go back up again at the other side of the barrier. Can you last for that long?"

"We won't know until we try," Seaberry said.

"Okay, let's do this," I said, turning the engine back on, and it roared to life. Seaberry then stood in the middle of the passenger space, clasped her hands, and closed her eyes. Immediately, she let out blue glow from her body, and Albatross was enveloped in a large bubble.

"Go now! We don't have much time!" Coco said.

"I'm on it!" I replied, and then I controlled Albatross to dive towards the bottom of the sea. As we had planned, within half a minute it reached the bottom of the sea and went through the invisible gap below the barrier. But then things went bad. Seaberry kept concentrating like before, but she started to sweat and the glow around her body started to dim. I controlled Albatross to get to the surface quickly, but suddenly the glow around Seaberry's body disappeared completely and she fell down fainted. Everyone else panicked as water started to invade the ship, shutting down the engine and filling both the passenger space and the cockpit with sea water. Looking at the desperate situation, I pressed a button which had the same function as the one which brought us out from Black Hole four years before.

Right after pressing the overcharge button, the engine roared to life again and spit out bubbles. The ship then accelerated towards the surface with increasing speed. Soon, it reached the surface and emerged with a jump. It then landed back on the water surface and continued to run towards the island with high speed. I was barely able to control the movement.

"Everybody brace yourselves!" I shouted, and soon Albatross crash landed at an empty beach. I was glad that the gravity field still worked well that nobody got hurt. After it came into a complete stop, I opened the canopy and shouted, "Get away from this ship now!"

Immediately, everyone except Coco and I ran for their lives. Seaberry was still fainted so I carried her on my back with Coco's help, and both of us ran away with all our strength. Right after we were far enough, Albatross exploded violently. All of us then looked at the remains of my ship without anyone saying anything.

"Bye, Albatross," I said quietly. I then laid Seaberry down on the ground. A few minutes later, she regained her consciousness.

"Ah, you're awake!" Strawberry said.

"Huh? Where am I? What happened?" Seaberry asked.

"You fainted while using your magic," I said.

"What? Then what happened? Did we all make it?" Seaberry asked, looking surprised and worried.

"Don't worry about us. We all made it," I said. "Although my ship was not so lucky."

"What happened to your ship?" she asked, and I looked towards the remains of Albatross, which was then a pile of toasted metal falling into pieces. She then looked at the remains as well, and she got surprised.

"Oh, I'm really sorry. I was not strong enough," she said.

"What's done is done," I said. "Let's now go and save your friends."

"Wait a second! How can we get out from this island after we save them? Without Blackberry's ship we can't go anywhere, am I right?" Ginger said.

"We will figure it out later," I said, starting to walk away from the beach. Everybody followed without saying anything, possibly because they thought I was still shocked from the loss of my ship. Indeed it made sense for them to think like that. Albatross had been made with immeasurable effort, sweat, and tears. It had taken numerous tiresome trips to many places just to get the materials, and more tiresome works to process the materials. Four years had been spent making it, and I only got to use it for two days until it had blown up to pieces.

"Hey, Blackberry," Peppermint said right behind me as we all started to climb up a small hill. I was in front of everybody else.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"For someone who has just lost his ship, you look calm. Sorta too calm actually," she said.

"Peppermint!" Strawberry shouted, obviously not allowing her to ask about that.

"Sorry, Strawberry. I just can't help it!" Peppermint said. "I mean, if I were him I would have been shocked and cried like... like I've lost something very important."

"So..." I said, stopping my climb and sat down on the slope facing everyone else. "Do you expect me to do that right now?"

"What?" she asked.

"Do you want me now to burst into tears, cry hysterically, and then muse into blank space like I'm in shock for losing Albatross?" I asked again.

"Uh... No, but..." she said, losing her words.

"Will we gain anything if I do that right now?" I asked again. There was a brief silence. "I'd rather focus on the matter at hand."

"Sorry..." Peppermint said, bowing her head. "You're right."

Immediately, we all resumed climbing the slope of the small hill. Further behind, some of them whispered things I didn't hear.

"That was not like him to say that," Angel whispered.

"Yeah..." Orange whispered. "I mean, he has a point. But the way he said it to Peppermint..."

"Yeah, it made her feel bad..." Angel whispered.

"I'm just fine. Don't worry about me," Peppermint whispered. "He's the one you all should worry about."

"Huh?" Angel asked.

"You realized it too, Peppermint?" Strawberry whispered.

"Yeah. He's in shock," Peppermint whispered. "But he's trying hard to hide it. He doesn't want us to pity him."

"Ah, I see," Angel whispered.

"That's the Blackberry I know," Orange whispered.

"But that still leaves the question," Angel whispered. "How we're gonna make him feel better?"

"I have no idea," Peppermint whispered. "Let's just act normal for now, I think."

"I hope we will figure something out soon," Strawberry whispered, and soon we all reached the top of the small hill.

From the top of the hill, we could see an overview of Porcupine Peak. It was a nearly lifeless plain without many trees. Most of the land were occupied by weed. Lightnings roar regularly from the storm clouds above, which made sunlight dim, but there was no rain at all. Like Cinnamon had said, it seemed that rains happen very rarely there, because many of the plants were dying from drought. Some houses stand on the plain quite distant from each other, and all of them are in poor condition they were better said as shacks. All of my friends looked at the view, stunned because of the extreme difference from Strawberryland.

At the horizon I noticed moon rising and I looked at Cinnamon, who took off her sunglasses. She had just gained sight, thus she could see the scenery of her birthplace she had not seen for years. No words came out from her mouth, and her face expressed a bit of sadness. There was a deep silence for the next few seconds.

"I have never thought of coming back here again," Cinnamon said.

"Cinnamon, I can't believe that you were born at this horrible place," Angel said.

"It must have been hard for you," Apple said.

"How does it feel to be back here again?" I asked.

"I... I don't know," Cinnamon replied. "This place holds the memories of my horrible past, but it still feels like home to me. I don't know how I should feel."

"Oh..." Strawberry said.

"Now comes the hard part of our rescue mission," I said. "Everyone ready?"

I could hear everyone agreeing, and then we all started walking down the hill to Porcupine Peak.

-End of Chapter 3-


	6. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: "That's what friends are for."

We all walked through the plains of Porcupine Peak Island. As I had previously mentioned, it was a nearly lifeless plain without many trees. Most of the land were occupied by weed. Lightnings roar regularly from the storm clouds above, which made sunlight dim, but there was no rain at all. Many of the plants were dying from drought. Some houses stand on the plain quite distant from each other, and all of them are in poor condition they were better said as shacks. I could see that everyone else were stunned by the rather horrible scenery compared to Strawberryland. It was comparable to a gloomy part of Oz we had visited, but it was still hard to believe that such gloomy place existed in our world. While still walking, a conversation happened.

"Cinnamon, could you tell us about this place?" Strawberry asked.

"Well..." Cinnamon replied. "This place is the western region. I used to live here with some others, but father said that not too long after he brought me, everyone else moved to the northern region."

"Northern region?" Angel asked.

"I don't know much about that place, but father also said that now most people live there," Cinnamon said. "One funny thing about this island is that no matter how hard it is carried by waves and winds, it never spins."

"What about the eastern and southern parts?" Orange asked.

"I don't know. I have never been told about those regions and I have never been there," Cinnamon said.

"Have you heard anything about the mountain?" Huck asked, looking at the mountain which was covered with storm clouds.

"No, everyone were too afraid of the storm clouds," Cinnamon said.

"So, most likely your father and the mermaids are at the northern part now?" I asked.

"I think so," Cinnamon replied. We kept walking for some more minutes until suddenly I heard Strawberry shouting. I was at the very front of the group at that moment.

"Seaberry!" she shouted. I quickly looked behind and saw that Seaberry had collapsed and Strawberry had to hold her to prevent her from hitting the ground. She was still not fainted yet, but she seemed very weak.

"What's the matter?" Coco asked, looking worried.

"No fever," I said, touching Seaberry's forehead. "You must be still exhausted from using your magic back then."

"Is there a place to rest here?" Angel asked. "This plain does not look like a good place to rest."

Cinnamon looked around, seeming to recognize the place. She then said, "My house is nearby. Let's go there."

We then continued walking with Cinnamon leading at the front while I and Huck had to hold Seaberry, who could barely walk, to our shoulders.

"You shouldn't hide that you were tired," I said.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't want to slow everyone down."

"Now we're slowed down anyway," I said. "No difference."

"Here we are," Cinnamon said. We looked at the house we have just arrived at. The shape of the house was a bit similar to Blueberry's house before tidied up, which made sense because they both had the word 'Muffin' in their names. We entered the house and got a bit surprised because the inside of the house was much cleaner than we had expected. The furnitures were placed neatly, and there was no dust. We then brought Seaberry to the bedroom and laid her down on the bed. After that, we gathered in the living room.

"Hey Cinnamon. Your house doesn't look abandoned. Nope, not at all! There is no dust here, am I right? A house abandoned for a long long time should have a lot of dust, am I right again?" Ginger said.

"At the day I left this house, I told father that I was worried about this house. He then said that he would take care of this house everytime he comes back to this island," Cinnamon replied. "I doubted him at first, so he made a pinky promise."

"Pinky Promise? Like this?" Peppermint asked, suddenly hitching her little finger to mine, who was the closest from her position. Cinnamon nodded.

"It looks like he kept the promise," Coco said, looking around the house. "I can't believe that he's the same man who kidnapped me and the mermaids."

I didn't hear the conversations afterwards. I went outside the house alone and sat on a stone large enough for me to sit on. I mused on the storming sky for a moment, and then I took something from my pocket. It was Albatross' remote, which had become useless because Albatross was no more. I pressed the button to call the ship, but a red light flashed above the button, indicating that Albatross could not be called. I then mused at the remote for some more seconds.

"May I sit here?" A voice I recognized as Huck said from my left.

"Yeah..." I replied while musing to the front, right hand still holding the remote.

"Is that the remote?" he asked, sitting on the ground next to me. I only nodded and then I put it back into my pocket. There was a silence for a few minutes until he spoke again. "You know, I think you have been acting weird recently."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"The way you have been talking," he said. "It made everyone else feel..."

"Bad?" I interrupted.

"Not really..." he said. "It's just that you have been... not you."

"Oh..." I said. "Sorry about that."

"You have been hiding it, am I correct?" he asked. "Your feeling about your ship."

"How can you say that?" I asked back.

"Hey, I'm the one who has been your friend the longest," he replied. "Alright, only longer by two days. Or one day if we don't count the day where I erased my memory. But still long enough to notice that you have been acting weird."

"Well..." I said with doubt.

"And long enough for me to know why you have been hiding it," he said.

"Really...?" I said.

"Yeah, two reasons. You don't want to be pitied by anyone, and you don't want anyone else to see you cry," he said, which was true. I kept silent and he spoke again. "You'll have pain in your chest if you keep doing that. Let them all out to me. Don't worry, nobody else is here."

"You know..." I said. "It took a long time to build Albatross,"

"Yeah, four years," he said.

"It also took a lot of trips to get the materials," I said.

"Yeah, I remember the adventure in the Sun Temple to get the Sun Stone. That was really exciting,"

"And it took a lot of efforts to make use of them," I said.

"Oh yes, I remember you blowing up something in the workshop. You inhaled a lot of smoke and fainted for hours. You have no idea how everyone else were worried about you," he said.

"Yeah, I was glad that Glinda knew a spell to drain all smoke from my lungs," I said. "Four years of memories, four years of joy and sorrow... and it's now gone..."

As I said the last line, I started to sob and leak tears. I couldn't speak any further. I tried to hold myself from crying, but it only caused pain on my chest. Huck seemed to notice and he stood up.

"Come here, Blackberry. You can cry on my shoulder," he said, giving me his hand. I looked at his hand, kept silent for some seconds, and finally took his hand. I then stood up, looked at his face for another few seconds, and began to burst out in tears. He then hugged me tight and I cried on his shoulder. It lasted for around one minute until I finally managed to stop my tears. I then released the hug, wiped my tears, and took a deep breath.

"Feel better now?" he asked.

"Yeah... Thanks," I said.

"Hey, that's what friends are for!" he said. Both of us then returned to Cinnamon's house.

It took about two hours of resting until Seaberry regained enough strength to walk again. The two hours were spent mostly telling Cinnamon about how great Strawberryland was, how nice the friends were, and many other things. Nothing was told about our recent journey to Oz, probably because they didn't want to accidentally remind me about the loss of my ship. But they seemed to have noticed that I had gotten over it.

We then continued walking towards the northern part of the island. The trip took about one hour and nothing significant happened along the way. When we arrived there we saw that the northern region was filled with quite a number of people. As we walked through the place, we noticed that the environment was quite similar to most villages in Oz where the inhabitants walk around doing their own businesses, but the difference here was that most people have sore face. There were many adults but children were there as well. We could notice that some of them looked at us in suspicion and whispered to each other.

"We don't seem to fit in here, I think," Huck said.

"I think so too," Orange said.

"Yeah me too, but I have no idea why. Nope, not at all," Ginger said.

"Apple Dumplin' doesn't like the look of this," Apple said.

"I think I know," I said. "Our group is a bit too colorful, and you can notice that all people here has something purple worn on them."

"I think that can be right," Peppermint said, looking around. "In any case, where should we go now?"

"I think that answers the question," Cinnamon said, looking at a poster placed on a wall. The poster advertised about a circus having a new spectacular attraction. There was a picture of Licorice whip and a silhouette of a mermaid on the poster, so we were convinced that we have just found what we were looking for. To our convenience, the poster included a map of where the circus tent was located, so we went to the location immediately. On the way there was a conversation.

"By the way, has any of us figured out what to do once we find them?" Strawberry asked.

"No, I have not," Seaberry said.

"I haven't either," Orange said.

"Neither have I," Angel said.

"Nope, not me," Ginger said.

"Apple still has no idea," Apple said.

"Don't ask me. I don't even have a clue," Peppermint said.

"Don't ask me either," Raven said.

"Sorry, I still have no idea," Coco said.

"I don't know..." Cinnamon said.

"Hey, does that mean none of us have any idea?" Huck asked.

"Well, there are two options," I said. "Convince him to give the mermaids back, or sneak them out at night."

"I don't think we can do the first option," Peppermint said.

"Yeah, he won't just give them back," Angel said.

"So we will sneak them out at night then," I said. "But that makes another question."

"What is it?" Coco asked.

"Well, where should we bring the mermaids once we have them?" I replied. "My ship is no more, so that's out of the options."

"I'm thinking of bringing them to the nearest beach and throwing them into the sea so they can swim away," Peppermint said.

"That can be done, but I don't think they are willing to leave us," I said.

"Well..." Cinnamon said. "I have an idea but..."

"Tell us, Cinnamon! Any idea is berry worth hearing!" Strawberry said.

"My father once said that he always docks his boat at the port. Maybe you can... borrow his boat to bring everyone out of this island?" Cinnamon said.

"That's a great idea, yep it sure is! You should have said that sooner!" Ginger said.

"But that feels like stealing from him..." Cinnamon said.

"Hey, listen!" Peppermint said. "He stole our friends, so we will steal his boat to get our friends back. That's fair for me."

"Peppermint, I don't think that's a berry good way to say that," Strawberry said. "We will only borrow the boat."

"Alright, sorry about that," Peppermint said.

"Let's put it this way," I said. "We are going to borrow his boat and hope that he will realize how bad it feels to be stolen from. Hopefully that way he will realize the mistakes he has been making."

"I don't think that would work. He has felt that feeling already when we rescued the horses," Angel said. "But we don't have any other choice, so yeah..."

With the new plan set in mind, we continued walking to the circus tent. We arrived at the tent 15 minutes later. The tent was just like any other circus tent I have seen in books, although the size of the tent was rather small. The tent was situated near the bottom of a small hill, and there were no other buildings near it. According to the poster, at that day there would be a promotional performance which was free of charge. That could explain the crowd entering the tent.

"How about going in and watch the performance?" I suggested. "We still can't rescue them at this time anyway, so we can use this to rest a bit and also to see the situation."

Everyone agreed to my idea, so we entered the tent and took our seats. In the middle of the tent, we could see a huge box-shaped thing covered in cloth. I could guess that the thing was a huge aquarium and the mermaids were put there. Not too long after, Licorice Whip himself came out to the middle stage and officially started the circus.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the most spectacular, most unique, and the best circus in Porcupine Peak!" he shouted, and the crowd cheered. "Today, in this special performance, I will show you something very spectacular! These are the legendary creatures we have been believing to exist only in fairy tales, but they are really real!"

"Creatures? How dare him mentioning them as creatures!" Peppermint said.

"Well, they are not humans like us so he has a point," I said. "But it still doesn't sound right indeed."

"Boss... You haven't changed at all..." Raven said.

"Now, without further speech, I will show you..." Licorice said, holding a rope connected to the huge box. "Mermaids!"

As he said the last word, he strongly pulled the rope. The cloth covering the box fell down, and as I had guessed it revealed a huge aquarium with all five mermaids in there. I was a bit surprised that the mermaids had not changed at all since the last time I had seen them. It just seemed that they had not aged at all after being cured from petrification. The mermaids then started to swim around in a stylish way that all of us were dazzled by their performance. They were smiling during the performance, but I could notice that their smiles were not true smiles. Soon, Licorice pulled a different rope and a huge cloth fell from above the aquarium, covering it once again.

"Alright, that's all for this promotional performance!" he shouted. "Come back tomorrow for the real performance, of course not free of charge!"

All of us then left the tent. Before leaving, I could see Licorice moving the huge aquarium towards the back of the tent.

"I'm going to sneak to the back and check on them. Meet me again on top of that hill in one hour," I said, pointing at the small hill nearby.

"You can't go alone. I'll go with you," Huck said.

"No, I must go alone," I said, taking Blind Spot from my pocket. "I only have one of this."

"Oh, your invisibility badge. I see," he said. "Be careful then."

"I will," I said, putting the badge on my shirt and disappearing.

As they had promised, everyone else went to the top of the small hill located not far to the front left of the circus tent and waited there. From that place, they could see the circus tent on the right and the port on the left. The port itself seemed not to have many boats docked, but the distance was still too far to recognize if Licorice Whip's boat was docked there. They then waited for me to come, but I didn't came even though one hour almost passed.

"Where's Blackberry?" Coco asked. "It's almost one hour."

"None of us know," Peppermint said.

"I'm worried about him," Angel said. "Licorice might have caught him."

"It's still not one hour yet," Huck said. "He will come. Believe him."

"Sorry to keep you waiting," a voice they recognized as my voice spoke. I then took Blind Spot from my shirt and revealed myself.

"See?" Huck said. "So, what did you find out there?"

"This won't be as hard as we have expected," I said. "He separated them to five smaller aquariums and put all the aquariums into five separate cage carriages, the same type he once used to keep the horses he horsenapped. Probably to prevent them from talking to each other and making any escape plan."

"So, first we have to look for the keys?" Seaberry asked.

"No, I have my Key Master. We don't need to look for any keys," I said.

"How should we carry them out? I don't think we are all strong enough to carry all aquariums for long," Peppermint said.

"Fortunately, there is a wheelbarrow left in front of each carriage. We can use them to carry the aquariums," I said.

"That sounds good! Let's do it right now, shall we?!" Ginger said.

"No, we should wait until nightfall," I said.

"I will be just slowing you down then," Cinnamon said. "I'll be blind again at that time."

"You will wait at the entrance and watch if someone is coming," I said. "Your hearing is very helpful in this case. Raven can help watching as well."

"I see," Cinnamon said.

"Ok, boss," Raven said.

"With Cinnamon and Raven watching, there are ten of us going in. Two of us for each aquarium will be best to save time. After we get them out, we will bring them to the port and use his boat to carry us out," I said.

"What about the barrier?" Seaberry asked.

"I saw in Albatross' monitor that the barrier only works one way. We can't get in but we can get out," I said. "So, I think we are settled?"

Everyone agreed that the plan was settled, and then we waited until nightfall. Once the time came, we slowly sneaked into the back of the circus tent. Cinnamon and Raven stayed near the entrance to watch as planned, and everyone else continued sneaking towards the cage carriages. Soon, we arrived at the first carriage where Mermaid Strawberry was held. She was asleep, but she soon woke up and saw us. She seemed very relieved and excited, but I immediately put my finger on my mouth, signaling her to keep quiet. She seemed to understand. I then used Key Master to unlock the carriage.

"Here, take this and use it to unlock the next carriage," I said, giving Key Master to Strawberry. "Remember, two persons for each aquarium."

Soon, one by one the carriages were unlocked and the aquariums were put on the wheelbarrows. We then quietly pushed the wheelbarrows to the entrance, where Cinnamon and Raven was still keeping watch. I was glad that nothing happened to get in our way. However, I got relieved too early. Suddenly there was a loud noise of clanking cans. It seemed somehow one of us had activated some kind of alarm without knowing.

"What's that noise?" Coco asked.

"Sounds like an alarm," Orange said.

"What we're gonna do?" Angel asked.

"Run to the port as fast as you can and don't look back!" I shouted, and all of us started running towards the port. It was hard to run fast while pushing the wheelbarrows. Cinnamon ran hand in hand with Coco, so there was no need to worry about her. Soon, we arrived at the port. There was no people because it was still in the middle of the night, but there were enough lightings for us to see our way. We immediately went to the only pier the port had, and as we had expected we saw Licorice's boat there.

"Alright, let's bring them into the boat and..." I said before there was an interruption.

"That is as far as you go, meddling kids!" a voice shouted. We looked at the source and found that the voice came from Licorice Whip himself. Standing next to him was Seaberry. Her arms were tied with a rope around her body, and Licorice held an extension of the rope with his hand.

"Seaberry? Since when..?" Coco said in shock. Everyone were surprised as well.

"Ha! All of you were so focused in running that none of you noticed this kid tripping and falling. That was an easy catch for me!" Licorice said, laughing.

"I'm sorry, everyone," Seaberry said.

"Don't do this, boss!" Raven said.

"Heh, why should I listen to you, no good bird? You betrayed me!" Licorice said.

"Father, please stop this!" Cinnamon said.

"No, Cinnamon. I need the mermaids for my circus, so I can become silly rich!" Licorice said. "Now give the mermaids back to me, or I'll have her in the performance tomorrow instead."

"Father, please!" Cinnamon begged with some tears leaking, but Licorice seemed unaffected.

"You will understand in time, Cinnamon," he said. "Come on! Quickly!"

"Ugh..." I said, looking at the bad situation. None of us would leave Seaberry behind, but if we gave the mermaids back our whole effort would be just for nothing. None of the options were good, and even if we gave back the mermaids there was no guarantee he would return Seaberry to us. We were totally out of luck.

However, suddenly a lightning strike fell down to the space between our group and Licorice, surprising everyone. Immediately, more lightning strikes fell down all over the port, tearing some buildings down and starting fire. All of us looked upwards and saw a large spiraling fire floating above the sea towards us, firing more lightning strikes.

"What is that thing?!" Peppermint asked.

"Don't ask me! I have no idea!" I replied.

Suddenly, the fire increased its speed and flew towards us. Without even having time to think, all of us including the mermaids and Seaberry were sucked by the fire. Most of us screamed in fear, and then everything went dark.

I didn't faint at all. After hitting some sort of solid ground, I attempted to stand up. I could feel that the space I was in was crowded with everyone else lying down there. After I managed to stand up, the next thing I noticed was the most surprising thing I have ever experienced.

"Albatross...?" I said in disbelief. "But how...?"

"What, we're inside Albatross right now? That couldn't be, am I right? The ship has exploded into pieces, am I right again?" Ginger said, getting up.

"Is this real? How could it happen?" Orange asked. I then immediately went to sit on the pilot seat.

"Everyone, I know you all have a lot of questions, but believe me that I am as clueless as you are," I said. Then, without me touching anything on the cockpit, Albatross flew by itself away from the island. As expected, the barrier only worked one way so there was no trouble getting past it. I then turned my pilot seat around so I could see everyone else being cramped in the passenger space because of the five additional passengers who were the mermaids.

"We should untie Seaberry now," I said, looking towards Seaberry, whose arms were still tied up. The extension of the rope were clamped at the place where the canopy and the body were attached whenever the canopy was closed. Apple, who was the closest to Seaberry, quickly untied the ropes.

"HELP!" suddenly we heard someone yelling for help. The scream seemed to come from behind. I tried turning on the monitor to see the source, but there was no response. I then tried looking through the glass of the canopy, and saw that the one screaming was Licorice Whip. He was dangling on the rope extension, pushed to the back because of Albatross' high speed.

"Father!" Cinnamon shouted.

"At this speed he will be crushed by the sea water if he falls down!" I said.

"Blackberry! Stop this ship!" Strawberry shouted.

"I'm trying, but the controls are not responding!" I said, trying to stop Albatross in futile attempt.

"Then there's only one way!" Huck said. "Everyone, grab the rope! Open the canopy, and we pull him in together!"

"Okay!" I said, manually opening the canopy. We then pulled the rope with all our strength.

"H-HELP! I CAN'T HOLD ON MUCH LONGER!" Licorice shouted, his grip were starting to slip towards the end of the rope.

"Hang in there! We are pulling you in!" Strawberry said.

"I C-CAN'T HOLD ON ANYMORE!" Licorice shouted, dangling on the very end of the rope.

"Father! Please! Don't let go! I don't want to lose you!" Cinnamon shouted. "I love you, father! So please! Don't leave me alone!"

Cinnamon's lines seemed to have become an additional strength for Licorice. He then started to climb the rope while we kept pulling the rope into the ship. Soon, he reached the passenger space and climbed into it. After he was safe, I closed the canopy. Everyone then fell into sitting position, panting a lot.

"Why...?" Licorice said, still panting. "Why did you help me? After what I have done?"

There was a silence for a few seconds.

"Do we need a reason?" I asked back. "We don't need a reason to help someone. Everybody are basically born to help each other. If someone is in danger and needs help, we will help without any question."

"Yeah, that's right," Peppermint said. "And besides, you're not as bad as we have been thinking. Cinnamon told us a lot about you."

"Eh, Cinnamon?" Licorice asked, looking at Cinnamon. She then started to sob and jumped to hug Licorice. "Hey, what are you...?"

"Father! I'm so glad you are safe!" Cinnamon said. Licorice was silent for a while.

"Maybe I have been wrong all this time," he said. "I wanted to earn a lot of money and become silly rich," he continued. "I wanted to make my daughter happy by becoming rich. That has been my goal."

"Father, I don't need you to be rich!" Cinnamon said. "I only need you to stay with me! Like how we have been doing!"

"I understand, dear. I won't leave you again," Licorice said, hugging Cinnamon back. Soon, Albatross suddenly stopped. I looked outside and it turned out that it had landed right in front of Licorice's house. Cinnamon and Licorice then jumped off and looked at us. Raven followed them.

"I will continue to live here with my daughter," Licorice said. "I think I will just forget the idea of making a big circus."

"I have decided to trust my boss once more. Please tell the horses on Ice Cream Island that I will come to visit them sometimes," Raven said.

"Thank you for your help, everyone!" Cinnamon said.

"That's what friends are for," I replied.

"Come visit us some time if you can. We will gladly welcome you," Licorice said.

"Of course we will!" Strawberry said with a smile. I then closed the canopy and Albatross flew away by itself. Both Cinnamon and Licorice waved their hands at us. Soon, Albatross stopped and floated above the sea near Coco's house. I then opened the canopy.

"Thank you berry much for helping us!" Mermaid Strawberry said.

"I absolooootely have no idea what would have happened if you didn't come," Mermaid Blueberry said.

"You can say that again, matey," Mermaid Rainbow said. Mermaid Coco and Mermaid Seaberry hugged their 'twins' and then all mermaids jumped into the sea. Albatross then flew by itself again and landed on the beach next to Coco's house. I hadn't even gotten the chance to close the canopy, so we all got off immediately.

"You know, I didn't think that your ship could do those things," Huck said. "Making lightning strikes, becoming a spiraling fire. Those were amazing!"

"Yeah, Albatross has a lightning cannon and two flamethrowers," I said. "Henry said that I would need some sort of defense sooner or later, so he put those weapons into it."

"And he was totally right!" Ginger said.

"Now comes the big question," Peppermint said. "How did this ship come back together? I mean, it exploded into burning pieces!"

"Well," I said. "If I think about it, the material I used to build the whole body came from a strange stone which can regenerate."

"Regenerate?" Orange asked.

"You don't say..." Huck said. "The stone from the Center of The Planet?"

"Yes, that one," I said. "Whenever I scratch it, the scratch mark disappears within an hour. But I didn't care much about that ability because the stone was nearly as light as feather while as strong and durable as steel. That was the most important thing for me."

"Alright, maybe that answers the first question," Apple said. "But Apple still wonders why the ship flew by itself."

"Yeah, it was like it is alive and can think by itself," Angel said.

"I have no idea about that," I said. "But we are now here, safe and sound. Everything ended well."

"Yeah, that's the most important thing!" Strawberry said.

"Thank you everyone," Coco said. "I couldn't have done it without you."

"Yeah, me too," Seaberry said.

"That's what friends are for," Strawberry said, and we all had a big group hug.

-End of Chapter 4-


	7. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Future World Revisited

Two days have passed since the day we had gone to Porcupine Peak to rescue the mermaids. The result of the journey was well worth all the effort. We got to meet Cinnamon Muffin who was a very friendly girl, and Licorice Whip had finally realized his mistakes and since then had become a good guy. However, the journey had also left me with a big question. What had happened to Albatross?

Ever since the day it had mysteriously come back together from burning pieces, Albatross had become somewhat alive. I could no longer control it from the cockpit, but it could fly by itself and it seemed to always understand what I wanted. I just needed to get onboard and it would take me to the place I wanted to go to without me telling the place. It felt like the ship could read my mind. Still, the big question was about how and why it had become alive, and if it was indeed alive, why it was loyal to me? Could it be... Black Currant's soul possessing the ship like how it happened to many vehicles in Greenhill? But in their case the possessed vehicles became able to talk and I could see that they were alive because there were visible signs such as the presence of functional mouth, eyes, nose, and ears. Albatross still looked the same as before the crash landing, so it probably was not the case. I really wanted to know the answer but I didn't even have a clue, so I decided to let it by for then.

This morning, after having breakfast I suddenly felt like visiting the future Sour Grapes, or Stella Grapes to be exact since she had left her previous name by then. I also wanted to know more about her children because I hadn't got to know much about them. Peach Streusel was a bit like Ginger Snap in talking. I also could guess that she was as active as Huck because she had shown good skateboarding skills. She was also unique to me because out of all Strawberryland kids I knew she was the only one who wore shorts, which in my opinion matched well with her activeness. I still didn't know much about the twins Mango Jubilee and Persimmons, but as far as I had noticed Persimmons seemed to lose hope easier than Mango, while Mango seemed a bit harder to trust new people compared to Persimmons. Jackfruit Jam had not shown notable personality, so I still couldn't tell much about him. As for Grapes' husband, I didn't even know his name yet, but the couple seemed to love each other and had been living a peaceful life.

In any case, because I had not remade my Time Remote II, I had no options other than using Albatross' time travel ability to visit Future Strawberryland. I had not written in the last journal that unlike with the Time Remote II, time travelling with Albatross was a bit harder. After disappearing, it didn't simply reappear at the destination time. Instead, it reappeared in a hyperspace-like tunnel which was the place where time flows. The ship then had to fly against the flow to travel to the past or along the flow to travel to the future. At this time, the monitor would show the current time period the ship was on, and after the destination was reached the ship would disappear and reappear at the world.

Without any more thinking, I stepped out from my house and approached Albatross where it had parked itself next to Falcon and Blackbird. As if it understood, it opened its canopy, letting me to get onboard. After getting in, I sat on the pilot seat.

"Albatross, maybe you know this already, but take me to seven years in the future," I said.

Right after I had said the line, the canopy closed and I could hear the engine roaring. The ship then floated up and disappeared from Strawberryland. The next thing I saw was the hyperspace tunnel of time, still giving rough shakes like before. Albatross then flew along with the flow of time and the monitor in front of me showed increasing dates. The trip went fairly well for the first one minute, but suddenly the monitor flashed red with a siren blaring.

"What's happening?" I asked, but a sudden massive shaking answered the question. I looked outside and saw the tunnel having an upheaval. Everything outside looked distorted compared to the usual and lightning strikes, or at least something that looked like them, happened everywhere. Immediately, some text appeared on the monitor.

ATTEMPTING TO FLY THROUGH TIME TUNNEL UPHEAVAL. BUCKLE UP, INTERNAL GRAVITY FIELD IS POSSIBLY NOT ENOUGH TO KEEP THE COCKPIT STABLE

Without questioning anything, I put up the seatbelt on the seat and held onto the seat tightly. I was quite afraid, but I had experienced worse things while staying in Oz so I still could keep calm and trust everything to Albatross, or whatever was controlling it. I still saw everything visible from the cockpit windshield, and apparently the upheaval also caused various debris to float all over the place. There were rocks, trees, water, and many other things including vehicles and furnitures. I could never guess where those debris had come from, and I could only hope Albatross was skillful enough to avoid them.

Fortunately, Albatross was indeed very skillful in flying through the upheaval while avoiding all the debris. Little by little the amount of debris decreased and the shaking outside seemed to be calming down, implying that we were almost through. However, suddenly a lightning strike hit a large rock nearby and shattered it into pieces of various sizes. The largest piece, which was as large as myself, was launched straight to Albatross. Everything had happened so quickly that Albatross had nearly no time to react. It managed to avoid fatal impact, but the rock still hit one thruster on the right side of the body, causing it to explode and burn with thick black smoke. Another line of text appeared on the monitor.

RIGHT THRUSTER HAS BEEN DESTROYED. ENGINE STILL OPERATIONAL. CONTINUING FLIGHT WITH THE REMAINING LEFT THRUSTER.

The flight continued and soon enough we had been through. I was really glad this kind of experience had not happened at the last trip. I couldn't imagine what kind of panicking would have occured if my friends had to experience such danger.

"Albatross, are you all right?" I asked, but there was no response. The monitor once again showed increasing dates, but there was a message under the numbers.

RECENT EVENTS HAVE INTERFERED WITH DATE CALCULATIONS. DESTINATION DATE IS POSSIBLE TO BE MISSED BY RANGE UP TO SIX MONTHS.

"That's fine. It's still the future Strawberryland after all," I said. One minute later the ship stopped flying and disappeared from the tunnel. The next thing I felt was an extremely cold air temperature. Everything was white with snow outside, which meant that I had arrived at winter season. Albatross then landed on an open field and didn't move anymore. Another line of text replaced the previous line.

REGENERATING RIGHT THRUSTER. FLIGHT IS NOT POSSIBLE UNTIL TWO HOURS LATER.

"So you indeed can regenerate," I said. I was shaking quite badly because of the cold weather and I was not wearing my winter jacket. The snow outside was pretty thick, but fortunately the sun was shining and there was no snowfall. There was nearly no difference in the temperature of inside and outside Albatross, so I decided to jump out and walk around instead of staying put.

I walked away from Albatross, hands covered in armpits. I knew that not wearing warm clothes in winter was a bad idea, but I had never thought that it would have been that bad. That was also the first time I regretted for having short sleeve shirt as my casual outfit unlike most other Strawberryland kids. The weather felt so cold that I started to feel pain in my hands, and then I heard someone calling.

"Blackberry!" the voice called. I looked towards the source and found out that it was Peach Streusel in her winter outfit. Her hat seemed to be a thicker and furry version of her usual hat. She wore pink fur coat and purple gloves, and looking at her neck area I could guess that she wore her purple sweater underneath the coat without the orange shirt. She still wore the same orange shorts, and she wore violet boots along with purple thigh socks. I kinda wondered if she didn't feel cold, because her shorts and thigh socks were not long enough to cover the entire legs, leaving her thighs not covered. She then approached me running.

"Hi, Peach," I said, still shaking.

"It's been five months since the last time we met! Where have you been? And why aren't you wearing warm clothes at all?" she asked.

"Well..." I replied, not knowing what to say.

"Mom said that you came from the past! May I guess that something wrong happened in your time travel and you ended up in winter?" she asked, which made me speechless because she was so right. "Looks like I'm right! Here!"

After saying those, she put her coat off and gave it to me. Of course I couldn't accept it because the coat was most likely her biggest cover from the cold weather.

"No, I can't accept this," I said. "What will cover you from the cold then?"

"I'll be fine, don't worry about me!" she said. "I insist!"

"Well..." I said with a brief pause following. "Alright."

I then took the coat and wore it. I felt a little better, but a single coat was apparently still not enough.

"Let's go to my house! It's warm there!" she said. We then walked towards Peach's house. On the way, I wondered a bit because she seemed not to feel cold even though she had given me her coat.

"Umm, Peach?" I asked.

"Yes?" she replied.

"Don't you feel cold?" I asked. "I mean, you have given your coat to me, and... you wear shorts."

"Pants are just too hot for me! I love running and playing around! Wearing these shorts and socks keeps me warm enough already!" Peach replied with excitement. "But now without my coat I will get cold pretty soon, so let's run to keep us warm!"

After she had said those lines, she started running. I followed her running, and indeed not long after that I felt even better. Soon, we arrived at the log cabin located at the woods between my house and Huck's fort. The cabin's roof and some other parts were covered in snow.

"I'm home, Mom!" Peach shouted as we approached the front door.

"Welcome home, sweetie!" a voice I recognized as Grapes' answered from inside.

"Mom, I brought a friend!" Peach said as we entered through the front door.

"Who is it, dear?" Grapes asked as she came out from a room. She still wore her purple longdress, but in this cold weather she also wore a long purple coat. She then saw us. "Little Blackberry?"

"Uhh, 'little'?" I asked.

"Sorry, hun," Grapes replied with a giggle. "The Blackberry I know is already as tall as myself, so seeing you makes me think that you're little."

"Yeah I see that.." I said.

"Oh, please have a seat near the fireplace!" Grapes said. "I'll make hot chocolate for you."

"Thank you, Mrs. Sour... uh, I mean... Mrs. Stella Grapes," I said.

"You're welcome, hun," Grapes said, starting to walk towards the back. "By the way, you can just call me Mrs. Grapes."

I then walked to the fireplace and sat down on the floor in front of it. My hands had not been covered well so even though my body was warm enough, my hands hurt and were nearly frostbitten. I then put Peach's coat off, returned it to her, and positioned my hands near the fireplace. She then put it back on her body and stood there, but I could notice from her behaviour that she actually wanted to go outside again.

"You can go play outside again if you want," I said.

"Really?" she asked.

"I think I'll mostly talk to your mom for now," I said. "Don't worry about me."

"Okay then, thanks!" she said, and soon she went outside. Two minutes later, I realized that even though I was sitting near a fireplace, not wearing any warm clothes was not a good idea at all. I felt a bit cold again, but I was too embarassed to ask for warm clothes. Suddenly, a blanket was put on me from behind. I looked at the one who had put it on, and saw that it was Grapes' husband. He was still in the outfit I had seen before, which made me wonder because it didn't seem warm, but he didn't seem cold. The smile on his face expressed kindness.

"You are..." I said.

"Somnus. That is my name," he said. "Thank you for your help back then."

"Oh, it was not a problem," I said as Grapes returned with three cups of hot chocolate.

"Where is Peach?" Grapes asked.

"I noticed that she actually wanted to go outside again, so I told her to," I said.

"That's my Peach," Grapes said, looking towards the already closed front door.

"To tell the truth, I am impressed that in such outfit she can easily withstand cold weather," I said.

"I would rather have her wear pants in this kind of weather," Grapes said. "Well, she actually complied once, but..."

"What happened?" I asked.

"Let's sit down on that sofa first," Grapes said.

The three of us then sat down on a sofa located in front of the fireplace. I sat inbetween with Grapes at my left and Somnus at my right, with a cup of hot chocolate held by each of us. I felt quite timid because I had never sat between two adults, and the fact that they were couples made me felt even stranger.

"So, what happened that she now wear shorts again?" I asked.

"One day, I heard her singing alone in her room," Grapes said.

"What did she sing?" I asked.

"Let me help answering that," Somnus said. He then stood up in front of me and Grapes, put one hand on Grapes' forehead, removed his glasses with the other hand, and then he stared at me with glowing eyes. I immediately felt something strange, and then I saw a vision of Peach, wearing her winter outfit with pants, sitting on her bed alone in her room. She sung a song with sad melody.

_My mommy put me in pants,_  
_And I am... hot and stifling. _  
_My mommy put me in pants,_  
_And I am... stiflingly hot._  
_My mommy put me in pants,_  
_Why did my mommy put me in pants?_  
_I thought she loved me..._  
_I'm sad..._

The vision then ended, and Somnus sat down on the sofa again. I was a bit confused about what I had just seen. What had he just done? It seemed like he had just projected one part of Grapes' memory into my mind with hypnosis.

"That was... weird and kinda exaggerating," I said.

"That was her tactics," Grapes said. "She knows that I feel guilty easily. She made me feel guilty with that song, and it worked."

"Eh, wouldn't that make her spoiled in the future?" I asked.

"I can only leave that matter to my darling..." Grapes said. "He knows how to love our kids but still being firm with discipline, while I'm just a big pushover."

"You are still the best mother I ever know, dear," Somnus said.

"So, what brought you here, hun?" Grapes asked me. "Are the others with you?"

"I just wanted to visit," I said. "I came by myself."

"I see, but coming at this time without warm clothes is not a good idea," Grapes said.

"I know that..." I replied. "There was a problem with my time travel which made me land five months later than I wanted."

"Is time travelling like this fine?" Grapes asked. "I'm actually worried history will be changed."

"It's fine because I traveled forward," I said, taking a sip from the cup I had. "Of course the story would be different if I traveled backward."

"But what if we tell you something important about yourself?" Grapes asked.

"It won't matter. It will be just like I hear the words of a diviner," I said. "I met one during my stay in... a place far away. He told me some things about my future, but I just continued life normally."

"He's right, honey. You shouldn't worry about that," Somnus said. "My cousins also agreed with me."

"Cousins?" I asked.

"Oh, I forgot to properly introduce you," Grapes said. "This is my husband Somnus, the younger cousin of PJ and Sandman from a place named The Land of Dreams."

"Eh? You are their cousin?" I asked, quite surprised.

"Your future self was not surprised when she told him that," Somnus said. "Apparently you have known it already because of your visit here."

"You know them already?" Grapes asked.

"Yeah, I have visited the place a few times," I said. "So you are not... human?"

"I am half human," Somnus said.

"So that's why you don't need warm clothes," I said and he nodded. "And that also can explain about what you just did, although I thought the magic of your kind can only work around dreams."

"Dreams and memories are not much different," Somnus said. "Both of them reside in our mind."

"By the way, where are your other children?" I asked.

"The twins are not at home now, but Jackfruit Jam is upstairs," Grapes said. "He can't stand cold."

"Yeah, that's right," a voice suddenly said from behind us. We looked behind and saw that the voice came from Jackfruit Jam himself. He wore rather thick warm clothes compared to what I usually wore in winter.

"Come and sit here, my son," Somnus said, standing up. Jackfruit then sat on the sofa right next to me.

"I think we will leave you two here," Grapes said, standing up. "Oh, and you can have that cup of chocolate," she continued, looking at the cup of chocolate which was actually for Peach but had been remaining untouched. Jackfruit nodded and then the couple left.

"Uh, hi Jackfruit," I said.

"Hi too," Jackfruit said. "And thank you for your help back then."

"Oh, that was not a problem," I said.

"As you might have noticed, I'm weak," Jackfruit said. "I get cold easily, I get sick easily, my three sisters and my cousins and can all outrun me, play sports better than me, and tire out later than me."

"Eh, I don't think it's that bad," I said.

"Oh, it IS that bad," Jackfruit said. "You probably haven't noticed it, but my legs were not born to walk right."

"Really? Indeed I haven't noticed anything like that," I said. "Wait, did you just say 'cousin'?"

"Yeah, my cousins and their parents also live in this house. Back then you didn't meet them because they stayed inside," Jackfruit said. "Too bad you can't meet them now either. All of them are on vacation to somewhere warm."

"Don't tell me that their father is..." I said. "Purple Pie Man?"

"Yeah, he's their father," Jackfruit said. "Is there something wrong?"

"Uhh, nothing," I said, deciding not to bring up anything more about him. "And their mother?"

"The mother's name is Cranberry Crisp," Jackfruit said. "But we used to call her as 'Berry Princess' until she gave the title to someone else."

"Berry Princess?" I asked. "I think Mango said that when we introduced ourselves back then."

"Yeah, we were confused because mother used to tell stories about her past, and the names you all mentioned were the same as the kids she met in the past," Jackfruit said. "And one of you had the same name as the new Berry Princess."

"Eh? What do you mean?" I asked.

"Strawberry Shortcake is the new Berry Princess," Jackfruit replied, which surprised me.

"That's interesting to hear," I said. "What does she do?"

"I haven't been told much, but there sure is a great deal of responsibility in the title," Jackfruit said. Then suddenly we heard something from the front door.

"We're home!" a voice I recognized as Mango's was heard. The door opened and we saw the twins coming in. Both of them wore their winter outfit.

"Welcome home, dears!" Grapes replied, approaching them. "We have a visitor here!"

"Really? Who?" Persimmons asked, then she saw me. "Ah, little Blackberry!"

"Yeah yeah, I'm still little compared to my real self in this time period," I said.

"Little or not, you're still our hero!" Mango said. "You cured Jackfruit!"

"Eh, that was nothing. Really," I said.

"Hey, now that there are four of us, how about some board games?" Jackfruit suggested, and we all agreed. We then played some board games for some hours.

"It's lunch time now, dears!" Grapes said from somewhere inside the house.

"Okay, Mom!" Persimmons said.

"Come have lunch with us, Blackberry!" Mango said.

"Eh, may I?" I asked.

"Why not?" she said with a smile.

"Thank you then," I said.

"Wait!" Jackfruit said. "Where is Peach?"

"She's playing outside," I said. "Is there something wrong?"

"Well, no matter how she loves being outside, she always comes home before lunch time," Jackfruit said.

"Come on, Jackfruit. You don't need to be so observant!" Mango said.

"That's right," Persimmons said. "She will eventually come."

"I don't know..." Jackfruit said. "I kinda have a bad feeling."

"Come on, Jackfruit! Don't scare us like that!" Persimmons said.

"Don't worry! Peach is tough!" Mango said.

"But..." Jackfruit said.

"Alright then," I said. "I'll go look for her."

"Eh? No, you don't have to!" Mango said.

"If I use my ship it shouldn't take long," I said. "But..."

"But what?" Persimmons asked.

"Could any of you lend me some warm clothes?" I asked.

"Here, you can have mine," Mango said, giving her coat to me. Persimmons also lent me her scarf and Jackfruit lent me his warm hat.

"Thanks," I said as I wore those. The variety of colors made me look somewhat strange, but as long as I felt warm enough I could care less. "I'll be back soon."

After saying the last sentence, I walked outside.

-End of Chapter 5-


	8. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Future As You Make It

As I walked out of the house, I was aware that Strawberryland was big and I needed Albatross to quickly search for Peach Streusel since I had no clue about her location.

"Albatross, I kinda need you right now. Can you come here?" I spoke in my mind, hoping that I had been right thinking that Albatross could read my mind.

Within seconds, I saw Albatross in the distance closing in. Its right thruster had regenerated and was fully operational. Suddenly, it rolled itself around and flew upside down. It then opened its canopy while still flying upside down, and right at the moment it was above me, I got sucked into the cockpit. The canopy then closed and Albatross rolled back into normal position.

"Internal gravity field manipulation," I said, sitting on the pilot seat. "That was also how you got us in here back then at Porcupine Peak, right?"

"Correct," suddenly a robotic voice was heard echoing within the cockpit, which surprised me a bit.

"That's great, now you can talk," I said, still wondering how it could had happened. "Anyway, I need you to find Peach Streusel if you can."

"Scanning the region..." Albatross said. "Target found. Moving to target area."

Albatross then turned around and flew towards an area I remembered as the wood located not far from Blueberry Valley.

"Target area reached," Albatross said, coming into a complete stop above the edge of the wood.

"Alright, let's land here," I said, and Albatross landed. I then got off and walked towards the wood. Soon, I saw a girl I didn't know. She didn't see me because I came from behind her. It seemed that she was keeping watch of something behind the bushes nearby. The bushes were as tall as her neck and she was on the top of a small upward slope so I couldn't see what was behind the bushes. I then tried approaching her.

"Hello," I said midway, and she looked at me.

"Huh? Aren't you...?" she said, walking down the slope to approach me. "Blackberry Bun from the past?"

"Eh, you know me already?" I asked. "I suppose Peach Streusel, the twins, or Jackfruit Jam has told you about me?"

"No! I know you myself! Don't you recognize me?" she asked back.

"Eh...?" I said, wondering. I then looked at her more closely. I looked at her red and white boots, her white pants, her red coat, her long spiky orange hair, her green eyes, and her hat which was the one which made me realize who she was. "Apple Dumplin'?"

"You're right!" she said. "Hahaha! You look funny wearing Jackfruit's hat, Persimmons' scarf, and Mango's coat! Too many colors on you!"

"Yeah, indeed," I said. "And now you don't mention yourself with name anymore."

"Oh, Apple Dumplin' still do sometimes!" she said with a giggle.

"By the way, what are you doing here?" I asked.

"Just see for yourself," she said, pointing at the bushes behind her with her thumb. We then walked up the small slope. Once we arrived, I was surprised to see what Apple had been watching. I saw Peach Streusel sitting on something which looked like a box with her ankles tied to it. A pole stood on each side of the box and her wrists were tied to the poles. Her mouth was gagged with a cloth.

"Eh? Why is she tied up like that?" I asked.

"It's a part of a roleplay game," Apple said. "I kidnapped her and the other friends must find and rescue her."

"So now others are looking for her?" I asked.

"Yes, there is a time limit and it will end within ten minutes," Apple said, looking at her watch. "If they don't find her before the time is up, I will win."

"If you ask me, tying her up isn't necessary," I commented.

"It's just to make the game feel more real and exciting," Apple said. "Don't worry, the knots are not tight enough to hurt her."

"Is this the first time this game is done in winter?" I asked.

"Yeah, why?" Apple asked.

"Oh my, we have to release her now," I said.

"Eh?" Apple asked, but I rushed to Peach before she could say anything more. She then followed me immediately and we released the ropes which bound Peach. I then released her gag, but right after that she suddenly fell to her knees. Fortunately, we held her in time so she didn't fell down to the snow.

"Peach! What's wrong with you?" Apple asked, looking worried.

"My legs..." Peach said. "They hurt..."

"Albatross! Pick us up now!" I said, and then within seconds the ship came and sucked the three us into it. We then put Peach on the pilot seat.

"What's wrong actually?" Apple asked, still looking worried.

"Her legs were frostbitten," I said.

"What?! How could that happen?" Apple asked.

"Well you see, her legs aren't fully covered from the cold weather. She's usually fine because she moves and runs around, keeping them warm enough. But if she's tied up sitting still like that..." I replied, which seemed to put Apple in shock.

"I'm... I'm so sorry, Peach! I should have known better!" Apple said with tears leaking.

"Don't worry, Apple. It's... ugh... fine..." Peach said, trying to endure the frostbite pain.

"Calm down, it's not that bad. We only need to warm her legs," I said, looking around for any usable thing.

"Use the Sun Stone," Albatross suddenly said.

"The Sun Stone? That's a great idea, Albatross!" I said.

"Sun Stone? That stone you took from the Sun Temple?" Apple asked, and I nodded.

"It is a source of warmth and energy, and it is now Albatross' main source of power," I said, walking to the back of the passenger space. I then opened a small lid located on the floor at the back. Under the lid there was a glowing round yellow stone attached into an insertion which had a number of cables connecting it to other parts of the ship. The stone had a rune with the shape of a sun imprinted on it. I was about to remove the stone when Apple interrupted.

"Wait! Shouldn't we land first? I mean, how can Albatross fly without fuel?" she asked.

"No worries about that," I replied, removing the stone from the insertion, which caused the engine and everything in the passenger space to go off. "The Flame Stone in each thruster and everything in this room indeed will go off, but the magic of Black Rainbowberry extract painted on the whole body will keep the ship floating for five minutes. That's more than enough."

"Sun Stone? Flame Stone? Black Rainbowberry? Magic?" Peach asked. "You sound like this ship is magical."

"It is magical," Apple said. "Most, if not all, parts of this ship are magical and cannot be found anywhere in this planet."

"Eh? This planet you said?" Peach asked.

"It's a long story," I said, "For now, just relax your legs and do nothing."

Peach did what I said, and then I put the Sun Stone on her thigh. The stone then radiated a yellow aura which then covered Peach's legs. Both Peach and Apple were astonished by the glow. I then took the stone from Peach and it stopped glowing.

"How do you feel now?" I asked.

"Well..." Peach said. "It felt like the pain has never happened!"

"Oh Peach, I'm so glad!" Apple said, hugging Peach.

"Hey, I told you not to worry!" Peach said as I put the Sun Stone back into the insertion. Immediately, everything inside the cockpit went back on and the engine roared once again.

"Thank you for the idea, Albatross," I said.

"No problem," Albatross said.

"You know, your ship is truly amazing!" Peach commented. "It's almost like it is alive! Or maybe it is really alive!"

"I think the same too, Peach," I said. "Anyway, it's lunch time. We should go back to your house."

"Yeah, let's go back home," Peach said. "You can come with us, Apple."

"No, Apple Dumplin' will go home," Apple said. "Strawberry will come home to visit today, so I must be home."

"I see," I said. "By the way, what about your other friends? They might be looking for you for real now."

"Don't worry. Time ran out just now," Peach said, looking at Apple's watch. "We have agreed that if time ran out we would just go home and have lunch."

Soon, we dropped Apple off at what used to be Strawberry's house and flew back towards Peach's house. Within seconds, we arrived at the destination and Albatross landed in front of the log cabin. Both of us then jumped off and the ship immediately left the place. "By the way, I think we should not tell anyone else about what had happened."

"Why is that?" she asked.

"We don't want to make them worry about you, right?" I said, and she nodded.

"I'm home!" she shouted while opening the door.

"Welcome home, dear," Grapes said from inside. "Come join us!"

After putting off some of our warm clothes the two of us joined the family to have lunch together. There was a bit of conversation during lunch time.

"Where have you been, sis?" Persimmons asked.

"Playing with friends. What else?" Peach replied.

"See, Jackfruit? There was nothing to worry about!" Mango said.

"Eh, did I miss something?" Peach asked.

"Jackfruit was worried about you," I said. "That's why I came to look for you."

"It was not like you to be late for lunch," Jackfruit said. "But maybe I was just too paranoid."

"Oh, Jackfruit. I'm sorry to make you worried!" Peach said. "I have to thank you for that too!"

"Eh? Why is that?" Mango asked. "Did something really happen?"

"Eh.. Umm... I mean.." Peach said, realizing that she had almost blown her cover.

"I think she meant that she is very grateful that you worried about her because that means you love her." I said.

"Of course! Why shouldn't I love my family?" Jackfruit asked. "They are the first family who really love me..."

"Alright, chit chat's over!" Grapes said with a loud clap of her hands, which removed all gloomy atmosphere. "Finish your lunch soon before they get cold!"

The remainder of the lunch time passed without any more speech. After we were finished, we left the parents and went to the living room.

"What are we going to do now?" Mango asked.

"Blackberry, I want to ask you something," Peach said.

"What is it?" I asked.

"How far can your ship go?" she asked.

"Well..." I said, thinking. "It's actually a spaceship, so it can go anywhere."

"Really? May I ride your ship again?" Peach asked.

"Of course. Why not?" I asked again.

"What are you going to do, sis?" Persimmons asked.

"I want to go to space!" Peach said. "It has been my dream since a long time ago!"

"I see," I said. "Come with me then. Anyone else want to come along?"

"I'm sorry, but count me out out..." Mango said, bowing her head. "I... I'm afraid of heights."

"Really?" I asked.

"Mango was not like this before, but after that thing happened..." Persimmons said.

"Eh? What happened?" I asked.

"Please don't remind me," Mango said.

"To make it short, she dangled over a cliff," Jackfruit said.

"I see," I said.

"I can't leave her alone. I'll stay too," Persimmons said.

"I don't feel like going outside now," Jackfruit said.

"So it seems only two of us then," I said, looking at Peach.

"Do you want to borrow our warm clothes again?" Persimmons asked.

"No, thank you. This time we will stay inside the ship so it is not really needed," I said.

"Have a nice flight," Jackfruit said.

"I will!" Peach said as she wore her coat and gloves, and the two of us walked outside. Within next seconds we were already inside Albatross. I still wondered how it could read my mind, how it had become alive, and how it had gained the ability to talk, but I once again decided to let it by for then.

"Go to space, Albatross," I said as I sat on the pilot seat, and the ship started to fly upwards.

"Entering Limit in The Sky in 15 seconds," it said.

"Limit in The Sky? What is that?" Peach asked.

"Something that prevents anything to go to space. But Albatross can go through it easily," I replied.

"3...2...1..." it said, and then the engine roared louder than before. But, within another 10 seconds the engine reverted back to normal and the view outside became black with white dots.

"Here we are. What do you think?" I said, but Peach did not reply. I looked at her face and noticed that she was too astonished to say anything. The scenery of sparkling stars, the sun far away, and the planet beneath was indeed beautiful.

"This is amazing..." she finally said after one minute of silence. "Look! A shooting star!"

I looked at the direction she pointed, and indeed there was something white with trails passing by far away. I knew it was actually a comet, not a shooting star, but I decided not to spoil her fun. She kept looking at the comet until it disappeared from sight. She then looked at another direction, and suddenly her expression changed.

"Blackberry, what is that?" she asked, pointing. I looked at the direction and noticed that she was pointing at the very same thing which had brought me and my friends to Oz. I didn't want to frighten her so I decided to lie a bit.

"That's a dimension door. Behind that door there is a different world," I said. "Albatross is from that world."

"Really? Can we go there?" she asked.

"Sorry Peach, but I think we cannot," I replied. "Nobody knows how much time will have passed once we return. Time flows in a different way over there."

"Your ship can time travel, right? We can use that ability!" she said.

"No, we better not. I realized in my trip to this time that time travelling with Albatross is dangerous. I almost got destroyed that time, and truth to be told I'm kinda afraid I won't be so lucky on my way back to my time," I said, remembering the thing that had happened.

"Oh..." Peach said, looking disappointed.

I was about to say something to cheer her up, but suddenly something passed by from behind the ship at very high speed. I looked to the front and saw something which left a short trail of blue flame. It turned around at a pretty far distance and went back to us.

"What is that thing?" Peach asked.

"I have no idea. I think we should avoid it and go back home," I said. "Let's go, Albatross."

"No need," Albatross said. "Let it come."

"Eh? What do you mean?" I asked. Immediately, the mysterious thing stopped right in front of us. Both Peach and I were very surprised. The mysterious thing was another Albatross. Before we could speak anything, a dimension door suddenly appeared in the middle of the passenger space and someone came out from it. I stood up from the pilot seat, and it didn't took me long to recognize that the person was my future self. As Grapes had said, my future self was already as tall as her. He still wore the same shirt and pants as mine, which implied that Glinda's magic on me would work for years to come.

"Hey there," he greeted.

"Let me guess!" Peach said. "Blackberry Bun from the present, right?"

"That's correct," he said.

"Why are you here?" I asked.

"What else? To take Peach to the other side of the dimension door," he replied.

"Really? But your past self said..." Peach asked, looking hopeful.

"I know that," he said. "Don't worry about that. My Albatross is much stronger than this Albatross. No offense to you, Albatross."

"It's fine. I know that," my Albatross said.

"Your Albatross is stronger than mine? What do you mean? How come?" I asked.

"I want to tell you, but unfortunately I must not," he replied. "To avoid time flow disturbance, I must not give important knowledge to my past self."

"I understand. But at least you can tell if I will figure it out, right?" I said.

"Hey, if I want to tell you, that means I have figured it out!" he said with a little laugh.

"Oh yeah, forgot about that," I said. "Anyway, can I trust her to you?"

"Hey, come on!" he said. "You always trust your friends, but now you can't trust your own self?"

"No, I mean..." I said. "What should I say to her sisters and Ms. Grapes when I return?"

"Don't worry about that," he said. "I'll take care of everything."

"Well, what do you say, Peach?" I asked.

"You are my friend and I trust you, why shouldn't I trust your bigger self?" she replied.

"Let's get going then," he said. Peach agreed and then the two of them went back into the dimension door, which immediately disappeared. Then, the other Albatross went away to the Black Hole and disappeared from sight.

"It looks like you are more mysterious than you seem, Albatross," I said.

"Whatever you say," Albatross said.

"Now that you can speak, maybe you can tell me what you actually are?" I said.

"I am the ship you have made in Oz," it replied.

"Not that one! It's obvious!" I said. "Don't you understand me!?"

"I am... your ship," it replied.

"This is no use," I said as I dropped myself into sitting on the pilot seat. "Either you really don't know the answer, or you don't want to tell me."

"Second," it said.

"Fine..." I said, leaning back to the seat with a sigh. "Let's go back to Peach's house and hope my future self will indeed take care of everything."

Before Albatross started moving, suddenly I saw the same blue flame trail at a distance. Within seconds, the thing which was indeed the other Albatross stopped in front and the same dimension door appeared in the middle of the passenger space. Then, Peach and my future self came out from it. Strangely, Peach was wearing her casual outfit instead of her winter outfit.

"So fast?" I asked.

"See?" he said, looking at Peach, who immediately giggled.

"We spent a week in Oz!" Peach said.

"Oh, time travel," I said. "How was Oz?"

"Well, a lot of things happened," he said. "Glinda and Henry were confused seeing me becoming so tall in just a few months after I had left."

"Yeah, I can see that," I said.

"We got to see a lot of places and met a lot of people. I mean, the berrykins, berry fairies, berry sprites, and others too," he said.

"What about your outfit, Peach?" I asked. "Where did your warm clothes and boots go?"

"Oh, this is Glinda's magic," he said. "The weather in Oz was still too warm to wear warm clothes, so Glinda magically changed her outfit to her usual outfit. All Peach needs to do to revert back is to speak out a password."

"Serenity winter!" Peach said, and within a blink of an eye her outfit changed into her winter outfit.

"So, did you have a great time, Peach?" I asked.

"Of course!" Peach said with a big smile.

"Then I'm glad. Let's go home now, shall we?" I said, and Peach nodded. I then approached my future self and whispered to him.

"Did she meet Gladys?" I asked.

"No, Glinda told me that Gladys was going somewhere far to search for some potion ingredients," he whispered back.

"I see," I whispered.

"What are you two whispering about?" Peach asked.

"Uh, nothing!" both me and my future self replied together.

"Okay, time for me to go then," he said. "Good luck figuring that mystery out!"

"Okay, bye!" I said, and then he entered the dimension door, which immediately disappeared. The other Albatross then went away back to the planet.

"What mystery did you talk about?" Peach asked.

"Nothing important," I replied. "Let's go home."

After I said those, Albatross flew back towards the log cabin. We arrived there shortly without trouble. After Albatross landed in front of the cabin, I opened the canopy.

"I think this is goodbye," I said, standing up from the seat.

"So fast?" Peach asked.

"Yeah," I said. "Thank you for all this time. I really had a great time."

"Will you come again?" she asked.

"If I can, I will," I said. "By the way, I want to ask one thing."

"What is it?" she asked.

"Have you ever met my future self before this?" I asked.

"Nope, never," she replied. "Why is that?"

"Nothing..." I said. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye," she said, and then she jumped out from the ship, which then immediately flew away and disappeared to the hyperspace tunnel of time.

"Is this going to be safe?" I asked, sitting on the pilot seat.

"I don't detect any upheaval for now," Albatross said.

"Let's go then," I said, and Albatross started flying against the flow of time. "By the way, Albatross..."

"Yes?" it said.

"Did this travel disturb the flow of time in any way?" I asked. "I have been believing that traveling forward won't cause any disturbance, but after hearing what my future self had said I kinda doubt it now..."

"I cannot give any answer. I have no knowledge about the flow of time," it said.

"I see..." I said. "Peach said that she has never my future self before. Does that mean I have to avoid meeting her until that time?"

"Sorry, I cannot answer that," it said. "But I can tell you this."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Believe in what you think is right. Your future is whatever you make it, so make it a good one," it said, which made me speechless for a moment.

"Thank you, Albatross," I finally said.

"No problem," it said as it kept flying through the tunnel of time.

-End of Chapter 6-


	9. Chapter 7 Prologue

Chapter 6.5: Uninvited Guest

The time travel back to the present went smoothly without having to face any upheaval. After reaching the present date, Albatross disappeared from the hyperspace and appeared at Strawberryland, right above my house. Albatross then landed next to Falcon and Blackbird, but after landing and opening the canopy suddenly the engine and everything inside the cockpit went off.

"Albatross, what happened?" I asked, but there was no answer. I then heard a suspicious sound from behind and immediately turned back to see the source. To my surprise, there was a girl about Apple Dumplin's age in white long pigtails, maroon sleeveless hooded top, denim skirt, red tights, and purple boots crouching towards the lid where the Sun Stone was located. The girl then stood up with the Sun Stone in her hand and looked at me with her sky blue eyes, showing an mischievous smile.

"Hey, who are you and what are you doing with the Sun Stone?!" I asked.

"This?" she asked back. "This stone is mine now."

After saying those, she jumped out from Albatross and ran away towards the forest between my house and Huck's fort. I immediately ran to chase her, but she was surprisingly a fast runner and I had a hard time keeping up. Finally I got exhausted and panted next to a tree.

"Where did she get that amount of... energy..." I asked myself, also realizing something. "The Sun Stone... As long as she's holding it the stone will keep giving energy to her."

I then walked with the remaining energy I had, looking around to find the mysterious girl. However, I couldn't find her.

"Hey, whoever you are, please return the Sun Stone!" I desperately shouted. "It means a lot for me!"

"Is that so?" A voice asked from above. I looked upward and saw the girl sitting on a tree branch. She looked down at me, still with the mischievous smile.

"Yes of course!" I said. "It's the life of my ship! No, I mean my new friend!"

"Your new friend? A spaceship? What kind of nonsense is that?" she asked.

"It might be a nonsense for you, but Albatross is alive. I know it! So please, don't take him away from me..." I said.

"You really sound like I'm kidnapping your friend," she said. "Alright, there you go!"

After saying those, she immediately threw the Sun Stone to me and I caught it with both hands. She then jumped off from the branch and landed right in front of me.

"You stole the stone, and now you returned it just like that?" I asked, confused.

"So you want me to take it again?" she asked.

"No way!" I said, holding the stone tight. At the same time, the stone gave me energy, removing my fatigue.

"Sorry if I've made you worried!" she said with a grin. "I was just kidding, you know!"

"Kidding? That was too mean to be said as 'kidding'," I said.

"That's why I said sorry!" she said.

"Alright, if you say so," I said, loosening my grip on the stone.

"Then let's play chase again!" she said, suddenly snatching the Sun Stone from my hand and running away.

"Not again!" I said, starting to chase her. This time, she ran back towards my house. When I arrived there, I saw her already standing right next to Albatross.

"Slowpoke!" she said as I approached her. "You really need to go out more!"

"I'm not slow. You were too fast!" I said, panting.

"I don't think so! Anyway, I've returned the stone back to the hole," she said.

"You are naughty," Albatross said.

"Heh, so it really can talk like she said!" she said.

"She? She who?" I asked. "Nobody knows that Albatross can talk except me and... Peach Streusel..."

"Oops!" She said, handgagging her mouth. "Me and my big mouth."

"You're... from the future? How did you get here?" I asked.

"That's my secret!" she said with a grin.

"Who are you actually?" I asked.

"Try guessing!" she said, still with her grin. "It's very easy!"

"Hmm..." I said, looking at her from head to boots. I remembered about her mischievous attitude, then I looked at her white hair and sky blue eyes. I suddenly had a guess in my mind. "You're... Purple Pie Man's daughter?"

"That's so right!" she said, clapping her hands. "Pomegranate Parfait is the name!"

"So you're Peach's cousin," I said.

"Yep! That's me alright!" she said.

"You should get back," I said. "Time traveling to the past is dangerous for the flow of time."

"I know that!" she said. "You told me!"

"Eh? Me?" I asked.

"Well, not really you. The future you!" she replied. "He told me about the flow of time blah blah, don't cause anything big blah blah, and all those things I didn't really understand! I only wanted to see for myself what the past I always heard from dad and Auntie Grapes is really like!"

"He told you that because he was concerned," I said.

"Ah, screw all that! Now I'm here and I'm staying for a while!" she said.

"No, you shouldn't do that! Please return to the future," I said.

"Ow, no way!" she said, starting to run away from me. Suddenly a dimension door appeared in front of her and she jumped into it. The dimension door then immediately disappeared.

"Was that... my Time Remote II?" I asked myself. Before the appearance of the dimension door, I had noticed Pomegranate taking something from her pocket. The shape of the thing had been really similar with my Time Remote II, which actually had been broken in Oz.

"Something wrong?" Albatross asked.

"Everything is going to be wrong," I said. "She had the Time Remote II with her. There's no way I can trace her travel and with it she can be anywhere anytime."

"So, what can we do?" he asked again.

"Nothing," I replied. "Except hoping that I will meet her again and convince her to go back to the future."

So, Strawberryland has gotten an uninvited guest. I wondered how long her 'visit' would last, and hoped it would not be for too long...

-End of Chapter 6.5-


	10. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: It Takes Talent, or Not?

Two days have passed since my travel to the future, and Albatross was still as mysterious as ever. It had somehow gained the ability to talk, and my friends were so excited about it after I had told them. Every few hours there was always at least one friend visiting Albatross just to try talking with it, or maybe I should mention Albatross as 'him' from now on. Albatross always responded to everyone talking to him with his unique robotic voice, and I noticed that day by day the way he talked became more alike to a human instead of a machine like he had used to do the first time he could talk. Still, the mystery of his origin kept giving me headaches. My future self had told me that he had figured it out, so I had faith that I would figure it out. However, not knowing when had made me a bit impatient.

"Still thinking hard?" he suddenly asked. I was lying down in muse on the ground next to him, and I realized that I almost had fallen asleep because of the cozy afternoon spring weather.

"Why ask that if you can always read my mind?" I asked back, getting up to sitting position.

"I don't do that anymore," he replied. "Your mind is your privacy."

"Eh? Then how should I call you when I need you someday?" I asked.

"I don't read your mind anymore, but I still hear all words you say and hear," he said.

"Alright..." I said, lying down again. "I still wonder why you won't make everything easy for me and tell me what you really are."

"Because it's already easy enough," he said. "I'm the one wondering why you still cannot figure it out."

"Easy enough? I don't think so," I said.

"You're thinking too hard," he said. "Why don't you relax for a while?"

"Yeah, maybe you're right," I said. "I think I'll visit Strawberry now. On foot."

"Take your time," he said as I got up and went away. While walking, I recalled a conversation which had happened in the clubhouse at the day of our return from Oz.

_"Spring? What do you mean?" I asked._

_"It's now March 21. The first day of spring!" Blueberry said. "What's the matter?"_

_"Where was the mistake? I remember the calendar from Sour.. eh, Stella Grapes showing that it's summer..." I said in low voice. Everyone else only heard me mumbling unclear words._

_"What are you saying?" Raspberry said, but I didn't respond._

_"Hey, Blackberry! Do you hear me?!" Peppermint said a bit loudly, which caught me surprised._

_"Eh?" I asked._

_"Everybody is confused and needs your explanation!" Peppermint said._

_"Well..." I said, thinking for a moment. "Alright..."_

_"So, what's the matter?" Rainbow asked._

_"We're not supposed to return today," I said, which obviously confused everyone else._

_"Care to explain?" Apricot said._

_"We left Strawberryland four years ago in the middle of summer, and then we spent almost exactly four years in Oz," I said._

_"So?" Peppermint said._

_"That means we should have returned in the middle of summer too!" I said. "It seems that something went wrong in the time travel. We ended up arriving four months earlier than our supposed time."_

_"Does that mean we have to travel four months forward now?" Huck asked._

_"I want to say yes, but..." I said, looking at our friends who had not traveled to Oz. "We have been separated for three years and eight months, four years for us who were away. It doesn't feel right, having to add four more months to you right after we are reunited."_

_"Is there anything bad going to happen if we stay?" Strawberry asked._

_"Well, I don't know," I replied. "It's like traveling four months to the past, but never returning to the present. The difference is that there are no our past selves because we are still in Oz by now."_

_"Argh, just cut it out!" Peppermint said. "Everything you said confused me, and maybe everyone else! All I care is that we're here, back in Strawberryland, safe and sound! No need to think about those complicated things!"_

_"Well..." I said. "I'm not sure about many things, but if everyone agrees, we can forget all I have said. Raise hand if you agree to stay."_

_After I said the line, one by one all kids raised their hand._

_"We're staying then," I said._

I was glad that everybody had made that decision. I had no idea what would have happened to Coco and Seaberry, and also the mermaids if we had decided to travel to our supposed time. I still didn't know how we could have landed on the wrong time, but I decided to let it by because all had ended well.

Soon, I arrived at Huck's fort. I had no intention to visit him, but suddenly it rained. I then quickly entered his fort through the front gate to cover myself from the rain. There was nobody home, so I sat down on the nearby sofa and waited. Soon enough, I fell asleep on the sofa. I didn't know how long, but when I woke up there was a blanket covering me.

"Hey there, Blackberry," a voice which I could easily recognize greeted from my left.

"Eh, hey Huck. Sorry, I fell asleep here," I said, getting up from the chair and folding the blanket.

"No worries. You don't even need to fold that," he said as I put the folded blanket on the sofa. "What brought you here?"

"That," I replied, pointing at the front door behind me with my thumb. It was still raining outside. Not as hard as before, but it was still a bad idea to go out without umbrella and rain coat. "I actually wanted to visit Strawberry, but it rained when I was by your fort so I took cover here."

"I see. I was just relaxing under a tree when it rain fell. I then hurried home and found you sleeping there," he said.

"How long did I sleep?" I asked.

"Not long, maybe less than one hour," he replied.

"I see," I said. "So, what are we going to do now? Can't go anywhere in this rain."

"Well, I have a board game around here..." he replied, searching on his shelf. "It's honestly not too exciting with only two players, but at least better than nothing."

So, the two of us played a board game which indeed became boring pretty quickly because there were not enough players. By the next hour, we had already stopped playing but the rain did not show any sign of stopping.

"I think I'll just go home," I said.

"Want to borrow my raincoat?" he asked.

"You only have one, don't you? Don't worry about me. I'll have him to pick me up," I said.

"Him?" he asked.

"He's not my ship anymore," I said. "I now consider him as my close friend."

"Oh yeah. Albatross," he said. "I agree with you. Now he can not only fly by itself, but also talk like us. I still wonder how he can do that, though."

"I'm wondering about that too," I said. "He just won't tell me because he said that it was already easy enough to figure out."

"That's right," a robotic voice said from outside the fort. Both of us approached the front gate and saw Albatross parked right outside with opened canopy. The rain somehow stopped dropping only at the space between the front gate and Albatross himself.

"Thanks for coming, Albatross," I said. "And a very nice way of using the internal gravity field to repel the rain."

"I can do this all day, but are you really going to have me do that?" he asked.

"Of course not," I said, walking to him. "See you later, Huck."

"See ya!" Huck said, waving his hand as I climbed into the cockpit. I then arrived home within seconds.

The rain somehow lasted for days. Sometimes it stopped during bedtime, but that meant it always rained when we were awake. During the rainy days, I spent time doing nearly nothing to the point that I got really bored.

"Now I wonder how bored my friends are," I said to myself while lying down on a sofa. Suddenly the doorbell rang and I went to open the main door. Once I opened the door I saw Blueberry in her rain coat down below.

"Hey, Blackberry!" she said, looking upwards and waving her hand to me.

"Hi, Blueberry," I said, lowering the ladder. "Come in!"

Before she could grab the ladder, she suddenly floated up into the entrance of my house and stepped on the floor smoothly. I easily understood what had just happened, but she looked surprised and confused.

"What was that?" she asked.

"It was Albatross' doing," I said. "He can control the gravity around him."

"Really? It's absoloooo-tely cool!" she said. "I have to say thanks to him for that."

"He can hear everything I hear, so you can say it to me," I said.

"Alright. Thank you, Albatross," She said.

"So, what brought you here?" I asked.

"Strawberry just visited me telling about her 'berry amazing idea'," she replied.

"Really? What is it? I'll gladly take any idea to get out of this boredom," I said.

"A talent show," Blueberry said. "First ever, almost annual, nearly yearly Strawberryland Talent Show"

"First ever? I actually think it has been done before... Oh wait, it was a pet show," I said.

"Everyone is welcome to come and participate, or just to become an audience," she said. "And it was just at the right time!"

"Right time? Why?" I asked.

"Friends from outside Strawberryland are coming tomorrow!" she replied in excitement.

"You mean... Frosty Puff, Crepes Suzette, and others too?" I asked.

"Absoloooo-tely!" she replied.

"Sounds promising! So, what can I do for you?" I said.

"We're going to use the stage in my house for the show, so I thought you could help me with decorations," she replied.

"Got it. Let's go then," I said, taking a capsule-like thing from my shelf and going to the main door.

"Don't you need a rain coat?" she asked, seeing me going down the ladder without wearing any kind of cover from the rain. When I stepped on the ground, I threw the capsule upwards and a dome of light just wide enough to cover my body appeared and protected me from the rain. The dome followed me as I walked.

"I made this during the boring days. Better than the one I had before because now I can walk around and it will follow me," I said as she went down the ladder.

"As always, you're absoloooo-tely full of surprises with your devices," she said.

"And as always, your way to say the word 'absolutely' is what makes you unique," I said, and we had a little laugh together. We then started walking towards Blueberry Valley.

"By the way, is it fine to leave him there alone at your house?" she asked on the way.

"Well, to be honest I'm not sure how he feels about that," I said, shrugging. "But I don't think he will feel lonely at all. He hears what I hear, or at least that's what he had told me, though I still don't know how he can do that."

"I just thought that we might need his help as well," she said.

"Really? For what?" I asked.

"Let's ask him to come with us first," she said. Before I could say anything more, Albatross came to us and used his gravity field to carry us all the way to Blueberry's house.

"There you have his answer," I said as we finally stepped on the ground again. Albatross kept floating above the house waiting for further instructions.

"Thank you for coming, Albatross," Blueberry said.

"How can I help you?" Albatross asked.

So, the three of us worked together to decorate the stage inside Blueberry's house. Blueberry was right about needing Albatross' help. With his ability to control gravity, he was very helpful in moving heavier things. When we needed to decorate higher parts of the stage, he lifted us up so we didn't have to use any ladder or such. In no time, everything we assumed necessary for the contest was ready.

"Stage, check! Audience seats, check! Judges' table, Check! Everything else, check! We're ready!" Blueberry said, examining her checklist.

"That's nice to hear," I said, still floating near the last piece of decoration I had put. "And we finished everything before dark."

"It was absolooo-tely thanks to you, Albatross!" Blueberry said.

"No problem," Albatross said.

"By the way, what are you going to do in the show?" Blueberry asked.

"Eh, I still haven't decided," I said. "But I probably will just watch. I have nothing to show."

"Nothing? You absoloooo-tely have something to show!" she said.

"What is it?" I asked, wondering.

"Look at what you are doing now!" she said. I looked at myself for a few seconds, and then I realized what she had been talking about.

"You mean, floating?" I asked and she nodded. "No way, this is Albatross' doing, not my talent."

"Let me ask you this: Who made Albatross?" she asked as I stepped on the floor.

"Uh... me," I said.

"You made Albatross with your talent! That alone qualifies you!" she said.

"But for me that's kinda like... cheating," I said.

"Hey, there's no prize to get in this show. The whole show is just for fun! We won't care if you fly on your own or someone else control gravity for you, as long as you give us a good show nobody will complain!" she said, convincing me.

"Well, if you say so..." I said, pausing to think for a moment. "Okay, I'll do it."

"I'm glad to hear that," she said.

"Alright, I think I'll go home now. See you again tomorrow," I said.

"Bye," she said, waving her hand as I left her house with Albatross.

At the next day, I came to Blueberry's house not long before the audition round began. Albatross parked itself at an open field behind the house, ready to lift me up when my turn came. I sat on a chair in the backstage, waiting for my turn along with many other participants. I was really nervous that I didn't say anything to other participants when their turn came, while they always said 'Good luck!' to anyone called by Blueberry, who played as the MC.

"Our next contestant today is the bespectacled Strawberryland inventor we all know and love," Blueberry's voice was heard from the loudspeaker in the backstage.

"Hey, that's the sign for you, Blackberry!" Strawberry said, but I didn't hear her. I was too focused on thinking what to do on stage.

"Whoa, it seems our bespectacled inventor is very nervous he didn't hear anything! Yep, he sure is!" Ginger said.

"Blackberry!" Orange said loudly, which surprised me.

"Eh? What happened?" I asked.

"It's your turn!" Angel said.

"Eh, really? Okay..." I said, standing up and walking towards the stage.

"Now let's watch... Blackberry Bun!" Blueberry said, and I came out to the stage. Everybody at the audience seats and the judges' table clapped their hands briefly and then they fell into silence, waiting for me to put something to show.

"Alright, lift me up now," I whispered, but nothing happened. "Albatross?"

I whispered calling Albatross to use his gravity field to lift me up, but nothing happened. The audiences and judges were staring at me, still waiting for me to show something, but without Albatross responding to my call, I had nothing to show. I was so panicked that I didn't know what to do, so I ended up standing there doing nothing at all other than dripping sweat all over my face.

"Blackberry? Are you okay?" Peppermint, who was one of the three judges, asked. I didn't answer at all.

"We are waiting for anything you're going to show," Huck, the second judge, said.

"If you have nothing to show, then get out of that stage," Custard, the third judge, cynically said. "We don't need a statue to obstruct other contestants."

"Hold on! What did you just say?" Peppermint suddenly asked.

"Uhh, we don't need a statue...?" Custard replied. She was a bit surprised.

"Ohh, I get it..." Huck said. "That's his show! He's pretending to be a statue!"

"That's right, Huck!" Peppermint said. "I was just about to say that."

"It's really perfect! Standing there not moving at all. I can't even see if he's breathing!" Huck said.

"You really have fooled us there, Blackberry," Peppermint said. "I thought something went wrong and you lost whatever you wanted to show."

"Yea, I thought just like that too!" Huck said. "You definitely passed!"

"I fully agree! You passed!" Peppermint said. The two judges then looked at Custard.

"Well, if it is really the case, then I will reconsider..." Custard said. "Actually, I still think that something really went wrong and these two made up that excuse to 'save' you. But, if you could make me think like that then you have played your show well. You passed."

After Custard finished her speech, everybody else gave me a huge applause. I really couldn't believe that other participants had to do preparations to make their show while I passed just by standing around doing nothing. That really didn't feel right, but I was still very nervous that I only could bow to the audiences and walked back into the backstage. Other participants there applauded me as I entered.

"Congratulations, matey!" Rainbow said.

"You really have fooled us all!" Frosty said.

"Yea, I t'ought zomet'ing went really wrong!" Crepes said.

"Sorry, I... I'm a bit tired. I... I need to sit down," I said, walking to a chair and sitting there. Soon after, I decided to go out and check why Albatross had not given any response to my calling. I went out using the back door without having rain protection, and when I came close to Albatross I saw someone standing leaning to him. The person was juggling a shiny spherical thing with one hand. It didn't take me long to recognize everything I saw.

"Pomegranate," I said.

"Hi there, Blackberry," she said, looking at me with her mischievous smile.

"You came and stole the Sun Stone just at the worst time possible," I said, and she giggled a bit.

"But thanks to that I learned something about the past," she said. "The friends here are really good friends. Except that cat."

"Custard is usually not like that. She just put herself too much into her role as a judge," I said.

"Really, huh?" she said. "Whatever."

"But I still don't like you stealing the Sun Stone again even though you know it means a lot for me," I said.

"Again? I have never taken this thing from your ship before," she said.

"Come on, don't pretend that you haven't done it. It was just two days ago in the afternoon, at my house!" I said.

"Two days ago?" she said. "Heh, whatever. Here!"

As Pomegranate said the last word, she threw the Sun Stone to me. I caught the stone, but at the same time she made a dimension door flat on the ground and jumped into it. After she entered, the dimension door disappeared immediately. Without second thought, I entered Albatross' passenger space and inserted the Sun Stone back into the insertion.

"She did it again," Albatross said as he came back to life.

"Maybe I should just nail this lid," I said. "But I thought you could capture her with your gravity field."

"Sorry about that," he said. "She appeared inside me and took the Sun Stone right away. Everything happened so fast I couldn't react."

"For real? Was it coincidence or..." I said. "In any case, I think I know what you really are."

"Really? What is your guess?" he asked.

"You are the Sun Stone itself, right?" I said. Immediately, I heard something from the inside of Blueberry's house. It was a very badly played music, so bad that I thought it was a joke.

"I think that sound answers your guess," he said.

"Eh?" I asked.

"You guessed it wrong. I'm not the Sun Stone," he said. "I'm still here no matter how far the stone is taken away, but indeed I can't do anything without its energy."

"Oh..." I said, rather disappointed. At the same time the bad music stopped.

"Relax, you can take your time," he said.

"Oh well..." I said. "I'll just go inside and see what's happening. You can go home if you want."

"I'll wait here," he said, and I went back inside the house.

"Hey, everyone. What was that sound?" I asked as I entered. In there I saw Strawberry, Angel, Orange, and Ginger looking very depressed. Other contestants there seemed to be trying to comfort them to no avail. "What happened? Don't tell me..."

"We didn't pass..." Strawberry said, and then the four of them left the place without saying any more words. I wanted to ask more about the matter, but Blueberry's speech heard from the speaker in the room prevented me from doing it.

"Our next contestant is the owner of a boutique in Pearis," her voice was heard. I knew right away that it was the sign for Crepes Suzette.

"Let's go, Eclair," Crepes said, with tall hat and magic stick ready on her hands. However, Eclair stood still with sad face. "Eclair?"

"What's wrong with Eclair?" Tangerina asked. "Is she sick?"

"Don't worry," Crepes said, approaching Eclair and put her in her hug. "Zee iz just 'omezick."

"Homesick? But that means..." Watermelon said.

"Yea, I 'ave to go 'ome," Crepes said. "Zorry, but could any of you tell t'em t'at I muzt leave?"

"Alright, I'll do it," I said, and I ran to the stage. In there I immediately went to Blueberry and whispered the news to her. She nodded after hearing it.

"I regret to inform that Crepes Suzette is unable to participate because her partner Eclair is homesick so she has to leave," Blueberry announced, and some disappointed sighs could be heard from the audiences.

"She's the last one, right? So I guess that wraps everything up," Custard said.

"No, this doesn't feel right," Peppermint said. "Now we have an unexpected opening."

"Hey, how about we give the Strawberry Jam another chance?" Huck asked.

"Another chance? Are you kidding?" Custard said. "They couldn't sing, they couldn't play their music. What do you want me to say?"

"Let me ask you this," Peppermint said. "What is the purpose of this contest?"

"Err... For fun?" Custard said.

"Do you think this was fun for them?" Peppermint asked again.

"Well, don't blame me for their lack of talent to show," Custard replied.

"There are things that don't only take talent. These things take a lot of practice as well. So why don't we give them a chance to practice more so they can try again tomorrow and have fun like the rest of us?" Peppermint said. "And don't tell me you didn't have fun playing strict judge."

"Uh... If you say so..." Custard said. "I'll leave the decision to the audiences."

"Alright, everyone who agree to give Strawberry Jam another chance, raise your hand!" Huck said, standing up and raising his hand. Without taking any second thought, everyone else in the room including me and Blueberry raised their hands. Immediately, every other contestants who were at the backstage came out to the stage raising their hands. I was amazed by everything I saw. Indeed everyone here were really good friends like Pomegranate had said.

"I suppose that settles everything," Huck said. "I'll go to tell them the good news!"

Huck immediately left the place after saying his last sentence. Not long afterwards everyone else went home to come again at the next day. At the backstage, I saw Crepes Suzette packing her things.

"So, you're going back to Pearis?" I asked.

"Yea, I just 'ave to. But don't worry! I 'ad my fun 'ere!" she said, smiling.

"How are you going to go home?" I asked, wondering.

"I 'ave an 'ot air balloon," she replied.

"It will take too long to go home using that," I said. "I'll take you home."

"Really? T'ankz! But 'ow?" she asked, finishing her packing.

"That," I said, opening the back door. Albatross was still parked there with his engines roaring. "Meet Albatross."

"Wooow! T'at iz amazing!" Crepes said. Soon, all of us were boarded in Albatross and he flew fast towards Pearis. We couldn't talk much because we arrived in Pearis two minutes later. After she got off at her home, we parted waving hands to each other and I flew back to Strawberryland.

In the afternoon of the next day, at the time when Strawberry Jam was given another chance, I sat on the audience seat waiting and hoping that I would not have to hear the badly played music again. Soon, with Blueberry's announcement, the stage curtain opened revealing Strawberry Jam members ready to play.

"Let's go!" Strawberry shouted, and then the band started playing their music. This time, they played the music and sang their song about working together really well. I was very pleased with their performance, and I could bet that everybody else were pleased too. After the song was finished, every audience applauded cheerfully.

After the band performance, there were more shows by other participants for the finals. I took part there, and this time I really floated and flew around the stage. Everyone were amazed and gave me big applause once I stepped back on the stage.

"Now, Strawberry Jam is going to play a different song. So without further words, Strawberry Jam!" Blueberry announced, and once again Strawberry Jam were back on stage welcomed by applause.

"Thank you berry much, everyone!" Strawberry said. "This time, we're going to play a song about how berry hard we trained but we couldn't make it come together. I'm berry glad that now we have! Anyway, hope you enjoy!"

Immediately, the band started playing a song which sounded a bit depressing at start, but became more cheerful towards the end. I didn't know the title of the song, but the line 'I'll keep on hoping' in the song got stuck in my head and I started to believe it as the title. Like before, everyone applauded as the song finished.

All in all, I must say that the talent show was a complete success.

-End of Chapter 7-

Referenced episode: It Takes Talent, the first episode of Rockaberry Roll DVD.


	11. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Blackberry's Slow Journey

"I hate you!" I shouted.

"Fine. Then don't expect me to help you anymore," Albatross said.

"I don't need your help!" I said, turning away and leaving him alone. I then walked through the forest between my house and Huck's fort, full of anger in my heart. That's right, I had a fight with Albatross.

It all started when he accidentally crashed with Falcon and Blackbird while landing, rendering them wrecked and unusable. If he had apologized this would had not happened, however...

_"You don't need them anymore anyway," Albatross said._

_"What did you just say?" I asked._

_"You don't need them anymore anyway," he repeated. "I'm much better than them combined."_

_"Don't say that!" I said. "There are sweet memories around them!"_

_"Memories? You should learn to put your past behind you and move forward," he said._

_"And leave them like they're garbage? No way!" I said._

_"They already are now anyway," he said._

Then our quarrel continued until what had just happened. I really couldn't believe Albatross was that arrogant, narrow-minded, and rude. I had been thinking that he was a very nice, helpful, and dependable friend, but it turned out I was really wrong. However, I then remembered that the future me seemed to get along with his Albatross well, which meant that I would eventually get along with Albatross again.

"Getting along with that no good thing? Yeah, right!" I said to myself, still filled with anger.

I kept walking without knowing where to go until I heard something which seemed like girls chatting while passing by Strawberry's house. Out of curiosity, I went to the back of her house and saw four girls of the main group and Tangerina Torta around the picnic table.

"Of course, there are other ways to get there," Strawberry said, seeming to be thinking. I then approached them.

"Hi, all," I said.

"Blackberry! And just at the right time!" Ginger said.

"That's right! He will be a big help!" Angel said.

"Umm, am I missing things here?" I asked. Strawberry then explained about going to Tangerina's place to see _Gladiolus giganticus_, a special flower which bloomed only once every 10 years in autumn, but Tangerina had the last train ticket and there would be no other train for a week. "Autumn? But today is Spring, right?"

"I forgot to tell you that every 30 years the flower blooms in Spring instead of Autumn, and this year is the special year," Tangerina said.

"Honestly, that makes me wonder how long that flower has lived," I said.

"So, could you help us to get there?" Strawberry asked.

"Well, I'd gladly take you there but..." I said.

"But what?" Orange asked.

"I refuse! Nope, no way!" suddenly a voice we could easily recognize said. We looked at the source and saw Albatross floating above Strawberry's garden. Without giving us chance to speak, he left the place.

"Err, could you tell us what happened, Blackberry?" Strawberry asked. I then told everyone there that I had had a quarrel with Albatross because he had wrecked Falcon and Blackbird and spoke insulting words about them.

"Whoa, I really have never expected to know that he's so rude! Nope, not ever!" Ginger said.

"You better scrap that thing immediately," Angel said.

"Angel Cake!" Strawberry said, and at the same time we heard a surprisingly loud lightning bolt. Looking at the sunny weather, I could easily guess that it was Albatross' lightning cannon.

"Remember that he can hear everything I hear. You've just made him angry enough to fire his lightning cannon," I said.

"Uh, sorry..." Angel said.

"What are you going to do about him?" Orange asked.

"As much as I hate him, I won't scrap him or such," I said. "I made him over the course of 4 years, too many memories. Moreover, if I really want to do that, can I really do it? I mean, I will get fried by his lightning cannon and flamethrowers before I can even get close."

"Whoa, that sounds creepy! Or should I say crispy?" Ginger said with a giggle, but nobody else giggled and she became embarassed. "Sorry..."

"In any case, all my vehicles are out of the options," I said.

"Well..." Strawberry said, thinking again. "I could get a car."

"Why not? It will take a couple of days to drive there, but you should arrive right on time," Tangerina said. "You all should come too!"

"We could get a trailer too, to haul our camping stuff," Orange said.

"Let's do it!" Angel said.

"Let's go for it!" Strawberry said.

"I... I don't know if I can go," Ginger said.

"Why not, Ginger Snap?" Orange asked.

"It's a long way to be, you know, in a car, sitting," Ginger replied. "I bet Blackberry feels quite the same, am I right?"

"If you ask me, pretty much yes," I said. "But many says that getting there is already half the fun. I'd like to experience that for once."

"As for me, I don't know. Maybe," Ginger said.

"Come on, Ginger Snap!" Orange said, trying to encourage Ginger.

"Yeah, come on!" Angel followed.

"Hmm... yeah okay. I guess I could give it a try," Ginger said, settling everything.

At the next day, all of us were sitting in Strawberry's car which was parked right in front of her house, ready to go. Peppermint and Huck stood near the front gate to send us farewell. I sat next to Strawberry, who was the driver, while the other three girls sat on the back.

"Have a good trip! Goodbye! Don't forget to write!" Peppermint said, waving her hand.

"Okay, so we're going to have to hurry if we want to see that flower bloom," Angel said, writing on her notepad. "The way I figure it, we have to make 400 miles a day with 20 minutes for lunch and two 10 minute stretch breaks."

"So what are we waiting for? Let's get going!" Orange said in excitement.

"Bye! See you soon!" Everybody in the car said to Peppermint and Huck, and then we left the place.

"Bye!" Peppermint shouted from behind us.

The trip went really... slow and boring. Orange Blossom kept singing the same song of John Jacob whatishisname, to the point that Angel Cake got annoyed.

"One more time!" Orange said.

"Orange Blossom, don't you know any other songs?" Angel asked with annoyed face.

"Not really," Orange said. "John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt. His name is my name too!"

"No more! Please!" Angel said.

"You all have sung countless different songs before. How about we retrace our memories and sing one of those?" I suggested.

"That's a berry great idea, Blackberry!" Strawberry said. "Do you have any suggestion about which song?"

"Well," I said, thinking. "I remember this song. _Candy is sweet, ice cream is too..._"

"Oh yeah, that song was a beautiful one!" Angel said.

"Sweet Dreams? I don't think it's a good idea to sing that," Ginger said.

"Why not?" Orange asked.

"The song is about, you know, sweet dreams. It makes you sleepy," Ginger said. "We don't want our driver to fall asleep on the wheel, am I right?"

"Oh yeah, you're right," I said. "We have to look for a merrier song then."

"Wait a second!" Angel said. "How did you know about that song? You weren't there that night!"

"Eh... Umm..." I said, panicking because I realized that I had just revealed something they should not know.

"Were you... stalking us?" Orange asked.

"I... Uh... I..." I said, still having no idea what to say.

"Calm down, everyone!" Strawberry said. "Blackberry, take a deep breath and then you can start explaining."

"Alright," I said, taking a deep breath. "You see, the sleepover in Strawberry's house was an attempt to get everyone back together, right?"

"Yeah, I remember that," Angel said. "Hey, how did you know about that too?"

"I met Strawberry when she was throwing the butterfly letters and I asked about it," I said. "So, that night I was wondering if the attempt was a success or not, so I sent my Eagle Eye to go there and find out. That was how I heard the song."

"I see," Orange said.

"If that was the case, then I'm fine with it," Angel said. "Anyway, any other suggestion?"

"Let's see..." I said. "How about this one? _Back together, ain't it fun? Back together again._"

"Isn't that the song we sung when Honey Pie Pony returned?" Orange asked.

"Yep, it definitely is," Ginger said.

"I saw her in the talent show, but I still don't know how she has been doing when we were away," I said.

"She couldn't get along really well with others without us, so she moved back to Ice Cream Island," Strawberry said. "She returned to Strawberryland when she heard that we have returned."

"Hey, by the time we sang that song, we didn't know you yet, am I right? Huck introduced you to us three days later, am I right again?" Ginger asked.

"I happened to be there, but none of you saw me," I said.

The trip then continued with all of us singing songs we had sung in the past. It didn't last very long, though. We eventually exhausted our throat, so Strawberry suggested an 'I Spy' game. That didn't last long either because it got boring pretty fast.

"Hmm, according to my calculations we are not making very good time," Angel said, writing something on her notepad.

"Oh, I think we'll make it!" Strawberry said. "You just got to remember, getting there is half the fun! Just think of all the amazing sights we've already seen!"

"But it's cramped in here and the ride's too bumpy!" Ginger said.

"I know it hasn't always been easy, but you can't let the little bumps in the road bother you," Strawberry said, and then everyone started singing a song about a little bump in the road.

Some time later, all of a sudden the car had a problem. Smokes came out from the hood and then the engine stopped working.

"What happened?" Ginger asked.

"I don't know," Strawberry said.

"I'll check," I said, going to the hood and opening it. "Busted isolating, vacillating, variable-speed witchet."

"No, couldn't be that. It has to be something else. You must be wrong. You can't be right," Ginger said in disbelief, checking the engine herself. "He's right."

"Can you fix that?" Strawberry asked.

"Easily, in 20 minutes," I said, taking my tools which I kept in my pocket. However, when I was about to start fixing the car, suddenly Albatross flew quickly right above us, and with his gravity field he stole all my tools and escaped.

"Albatross! You...! I hate you!" I shouted.

"Why did he do that?" Orange said.

"Man, I can't believe that he can be so mean!" Ginger said.

"What are we gonna do?" Angel asked.

"I guess..." Strawberry said.

Not long later, we were pushing the car with Custard on the steering wheel. We were fortunate that there was a gas station nearby so we didn't have to push very far. When we arrived we were greeted by a girl of our age. She had brown curly hair and wore mechanic suits.

"Car trouble? New in town, huh?" she greeted as the car stopped. Strawberry approached her and we followed.

"Hello, I'm Strawberry Shortcake! This is Angel Cake, Ginger Snap, Orange Blossom, Blackberry Bun, Custard, and Pupcake!" Strawberry said.

"How do you do? Name's Candy! Banana Candy! Welcome to Banana Boro!" she said.

"Thanks!" Strawberry said. "Do you think you can fix this car? It has busted isolating, what was it, Blackberry?"

"Busted isolating, vacillating, variable-speed witchet," I said.

"Really? Let's see," Banana said, checking the engine. "You're right. This is gonna take a while."

"No, you don't have to fix it," I said. "I actually can do it, but my tools aren't with me right now. So I think you can lend me your tools."

"If you say so, then let's put this car into the garage first," Banana said. We then detached the trailer from the car and then we pushed the car into the garage. Once the car was put in place, Banana gave me her toolbox.

"Well," I said, opening the toolbox and taking the tools inside. "These tools feel kinda different than mine. It might take longer than I said."

"How long do you think it will take?" Strawberry asked.

"Maybe an hour or so," I said.

"Well, that's not so bad. It'll give us time to eat lunch," Strawberry said, looking at other friends. "Is there a restaurant around here, Banana Candy?"

"Sure thing! Right down the road. Great place, fantastic food. Let me get you a cab," Banana said, and she left the garage.

"We're berry sorry for troubling you, Blackberry. We'll order a takeout for you," Strawberry said.

"Don't worry about me," I said, and soon a car horn could be heard from outside. "Sounds like your cab."

"See you soon, Blackberry!" Ginger said, and everyone left the place leaving me alone.

Fixing the car turned to be harder than I thought. The tools I had borrowed from Banana Candy felt so different that it slowed me down significantly. Even after everyone else came back, I hadn't made much progress.

"Sorry, I don't know what's happening, but I had a lot of difficulties fixing this," I said.

"Don't worry, Blackberry," Strawbery said, giving me a packed food. "Here, take a break and have your lunch."

"Thanks," I said, taking the food. All of us then sat on the floor near the door of the garage, talking to each other while I had lunch.

"Really? You're all going to see the _Gladiolus giganticus_?" Banana said when we told her about our trip.

"That's right," Orange said.

"It's always been Strawberry's dream to see it," Angel said.

"Yeah, I always wanted to see it myself too," Banana said. She then looked at me.

"Err, something wrong?" I said before taking the last bite of the food.

"Can you come with me into the garage?" she asked. I only nodded because I was still chewing food in my mouth. Both of us then walked into the garage. In there Banana took something which turned out to be another toolbox from the shelves and gave it to me.

"Another toolbox?" I asked.

"These are my real tools," Banana said. "The ones I gave you were just toys."

"No wonder..." I said. "But why?"

"It... it was so nice to have you here. I didn't want you to leave," she said.

"You should know that we can't stay here forever," I said.

"Yeah, I'm really sorry. It was an awful thing to do," she said. "I was... lonely."

"Hey, how about this? You can come with us to see the flower bloom. That way you can stay together with us for a while longer," I suggested.

"No, I couldn't," she said.

"Why not?" I asked

"You see, I've never left this place," she said.

"Never thought of exploring outside?" I asked.

"Kind of, I guess," she said. "Maybe I'm scared."

"You won't be alone. There's no need to be scared," I said.

"Well, I guess... I could, couldn't I?" she said. "And I will! Thank you, Blackberry!"

"All right then, I'll fix the car and then we'll leave immediately. You better tell everyone else and start packing," I said. She nodded and left the garage.

Not long later, while I was still working on the car, Strawberry and Angel came.

"Blackberry?" Angel said.

"Yes?" I replied without looking at them, still continuing my work.

"We heard from Banana that you offered her to come with us," she said.

"Yeah, the more the merrier, right?" I said.

"That's berry right," Strawberry said. "But..."

"Let me guess. Not enough seats in the car?" I said, still working.

"You know already?" Angel said.

"I will just sit in the trailer with Custard and Pupcake. Problem solved," I said, still continuing the work.

"That doesn't feel berry right," Strawberry said.

"Yeah, it is gonna feel like we just... dump you, after all you have done for us," Angel said, which made me stopped working.

"Dump?" I asked, then I giggled. "Don't be silly! Just because I sit in the trailer doesn't mean I'm dumped. Then you might as well say Custard and Pupcake are dumped too!"

"No, that's not what we meant," Angel said.

"I will sit on the trailer. No more questions. Okay?" I said, and I continued fixing the car.

"Okay, if you say so," Strawberry said. "Thank you berry much, Blackberry!"

"Don't mention it," I said, and the two girls left the garage.

Slightly less than one hour later, the car was fixed and ready to go. I drove it to the front of the trailer for Strawberry to attach the car to the trailer, and then I went inside the trailer. Soon, all of us were onboard and we left the place. Inside the trailer I couldn't see much scenery, but it didn't matter because I felt pretty tired after fixing the car. It didn't take long until I fell asleep there.

I didn't know how long I had been asleep when Strawberry woke me up.

"Eh, have we arrived?" I asked, still half asleep.

"No, we're at Calico Falls!" she said. "The view is berry beautiful and I thought you might want to see this."

"Why not?" I replied, getting up. We then walked out from the trailer. The next thing I saw was huge beautiful pink waterfalls, viewed from fairly close distance. Words couldn't describe how beautiful the view was.

"You see, this trip is full of berry wonderful new things!" Strawberry said. "Aren't you glad you came, Ginger Snap?"

"Well, I guess it hasn't been all bad," Ginger said.

Soon, the trip continued until the sky got dark.

"It's kinda hard reading this map now," Angel said. "But I know that where we want to be is just over those mountains!"

"Let's get some sleep here first!" Strawberry said, and the car stopped. We then spent the night there.

In the following morning, we continued the trip. I still stayed inside the trailer, but of course this time I didn't fall asleep. I could feel the car climbing a pretty steep slope, so steep that it could barely reach the top of the slope. After that, the road ahead was a winding downward slope. I could feel the car speeding up, but then I heard everybody screaming.

"Strawberry, I think you should slow down!" I shouted.

"Yeah, we should!" Strawberry replied, stepping on the brake, which was apparently not working. "But we kinda can't!"

The car kept speeding up through the winding road. The movements made everything inside the trailer including me thrown all over the place. Custard and Pupcake were lucky because they could hold onto the curtain of the trailer's front window.

"Hey hey hey! Take it easy, will ya!" Custard shouted while still dangling on the curtain.

Suddenly, there was a sharp turn to the right. The car didn't manage to turn well so the trailer ended up dangling over the cliff.

"Hold on tight!" Strawberry shouted. However, the weight of the trailer defeated the power of the engine. Both the trailer and the car fell down to the bottom of the cliff, along with all the passengers. I could hear everybody screaming, while I was too shocked and frightened to scream. All I had in mind was that it was definitely the end of everything.

However, suddenly the fall stopped. I slowly got up and walked towards the nearest window to look through it. I was surprised to see that we were floating over the cliffs. I then remembered something and looked upwards. Just as I thought, Albatross were flying right above us. He had just saved us with his gravity field.

"Heh, what a bunch of bothersome kids," he said. He then brought us to the bottom of the winding road and put us on the ground there. Everybody got off from the car and the trailer, looking at Albatross, who was still floating near us.

"Thank you berry much, Albatross," Strawberry said. The rest of us were speechless, probably because we couldn't believe the arrogant and rude Albatross had just saved our lives.

"Albatross," I finally began to speak. "As much as I hate you, I still have to thank you... And I think I know what you are."

"Just stop right there," Albatross said, opening his canopy. "You better go see the flower you want to see first. Come, I'll take you there."

All of us then looked at each other, thinking whether we should accept his offer or not. Nobody said anything, but everybody gave a nod, which implied that we agreed to take his offer. Seeming to know, Albatross pulled us into the cockpit with his gravity field.

"So this is the spaceship you told me about last night?" Banana asked after we all stepped on the cockpit.

"Yeah," I said. "Albatross, meet Banana Candy. Banana Candy, meet Albatross."

"Nice to meet you," Albatross said.

"Nice to meet you too," Banana said.

"Alright, we're just above the house of your friend. Go meet her," Albatross said, opening the canopy and dropping all of us with his gravity field. Tangerina saw us from her tree house and went down to greet us.

"The flower just bloomed this morning!" Tangerina said. "Let's go see it!"

All of us then followed Tangerina towards the place where the flower was located. When we arrived, all of us were amazed seeing the blooming flower. A lot of hummingbirds were flying around the flower, seeming attracted to it. The journey was slow, tiresome, and boring at times, but seeing the blooming flower made everything worth all the effort.

"Isn't it the most beautiful thing you ever saw?" Strawberry said.

"Yep, it sure is!" Ginger said.

"I'm glad that we made it here in time," Angel said.

"Very beautiful," Orange said.

"Definitely worth everything," Banana said.

"Albatross," I said, looking at Albatross who had landed on a nearby open ground. "I think I know who you really are."

"Speak out your guess, then," he said.

"You can read my mind or hear everything I hear, but you actually can't. You actually remember everything," I said.

"Uh-huh?" Albatross said.

"You started our fight on purpose, because you knew that if we haven't had a fight and if Falcon and Blackbird haven't been wrecked then we would have never met Banana Candy," I said.

"So?" he said.

"You are me, aren't you? The future me," I said. "I think the future me controls you with a remote or something and speaks through there. I don't know exactly how, but in any case you are me, and I am you."

"Well, you guessed it," he said, which made me happy for a moment. "Wrong again. I'm not you or whatever you just said."

His last line made me disappointed again.

"You're not all wrong, though," he said. "You were right about wrecking your other ships and starting the fight so you could meet Banana. But just that point."

"Oh..." I said, still pretty disappointed.

"Relax, take your time," he said. "But I still feel really sorry about Falcon and Blackbird."

"Ah, don't worry. I know just the way," I said, smiling towards him.

"Eh?" he asked.

Two days later, in the afternoon, I looked at Albatross with satisfaction expressed on my face. I had salvaged parts of Falcon and Blackbird and merged them with Albatross. As the result, he gained Falcon's harpoon, invisibility, and the ability to dive underwater. From Blackbird he gained an extra thruster right at the back of the engine.

"There! Now all of you are one!" I said.

"Heh, whatever you want," he said. "But, I sorta like it."

"Now, you need a new name!" I said.

"Huh?" he said.

"How about... Alby?" I said while holding myself from laughing.

"That's not a new name! That's just cutting my name short!" he said, and both of us burst into laughter.

-End of Chapter 8-

Referenced episode: Strawberry's Big Journey. The first episode of Berry Big Journeys DVD.


	12. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Berry Blossom Festival III

"Smell that berry blossom scent!" I said, taking a deep breath while lying down relaxing on top of Albatross' canopy.

"You know that I can't smell. I don't have a nose!" Albatross said.

"You have a nose," I said with a little laugh.

"All it has are the lightning cannon and the harpoon. Can't smell anything with that!" he said and we laughed.

"Hey, I just remembered," I said. "If I smell berry blossoms, then the Berry Blossom Festival will be held soon."

"Berry Blossom Festival?" he asked.

"It's a festival held to celebrate the berry blossoms blooming," I replied.

"Is the festival great?" he asked.

"Yeah, definitely," I said.

"What are the things you can do there?" he asked.

"Many things," I said. "Tea party, sing songs, play games..."

"Nothing then..." he said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I can do nothing there," he said. "I don't have human body. I can't drink tea and play games. Don't ask me to sing either. I have no idea about melody."

"Uh..." I said, speechless because of what he had just said.

"Never mind about all those," he said. "Watching from above will do fine for me."

"I wish I knew a way... Sorry," I said.

"Hey, I said never mind," he said.

"If you allow me... I'm going to walk around Strawberryland," I said, getting up and jumping down from the canopy.

"Why shouldn't I?" he said. "Be careful walking."

"Yeah got it," I said, leaving the place.

While walking, I kept thinking about Albatross. I had not been aware that his life was not as great as I had thought. Sure, being able to fly at incredible speed, travel through time, control gravity, and other things seemed neat. But not being able to do things normal human could do didn't sound great at all. I then started to wish that he became a normal human so he could have fun with me and everyone else, but it was of course impossible. I hadn't even figured out what he actually was anyway.

I kept walking without knowing where to go, and suddenly I heard someone playing trumpet nearby. I looked around and realized that I was near Peppermint's house, and the trumpet sound came from there. I then walked towards the house to check if it was Peppermint playing the trumpet. Once I arrived, I took a peek through the window and found that it was indeed Peppermint herself who played the trumpet.

"Nice playing, Peppermint," I said once she finished playing a song.

"Oh, hi Blackberry! Do you really think so?" she asked, opening the front door for me.

"Of course. You're really good at it," I said, coming in.

"The story was kinda different last week, though," she said, sitting down on a chair.

"Different?" I asked, sitting down on another chair.

"I think it's sorta better not to remember that," she said.

"If you say so," I said.

"Hey, you will come to the Berry Blossom Festival, right?" she asked.

"Why wouldn't I?" I said. "Time Remote II is no more."

"Oh yeah, I remember that," she said with a giggle. "We couldn't go to the first festival because we had to chase Apple."

"Glad that I could come to the second one in the following year," I said. "It was really great."

"And more peaceful according to our friends," she said. "The first one had Purple Pie Man ruining most of it."

"I hope for the best on this coming one," I said.

"Me too," she said, getting up. "I gotta practice!"

"Oh, so you'll be playing music on the stage?" I asked.

"Yeah, with Strawberry Jam!" she said. "Ginger's on vacation so I replace her."

"I see. I wish you luck then," I said, getting up.

"Thank you!" she said as I walked to the front door, leaving her to do her practice.

Three days later was the day of the festival. When I left my house in the morning, Albatross wasn't there at his place. I thought that he had already gone to watch the festival from above, so I went there without much concern. However, when I arrived I didn't see him anywhere.

"Could he be watching from very high above?" I thought, looking upwards but finding nothing.

"'ello t'ere, Blackberry!" someone greeted. It didn't take long for me to recognize that it was Crepes.

"Hello, Crepes," I said.

"T'ankz for inviting me 'ere! T'is iz my first time 'ere!" she said.

"You should thank Strawberry for that," I said. "I didn't do anything."

"It doezn't matter! Let'z 'ave fun wit' ot'ers!" she said, going away cheerfully.

"Hey, Blackberry!" someone else greeted. I looked at her and saw that it was Cherry.

"Cherry! It's been very long!" I said.

"Indeed! And I'm glad to see you again!" she said, giving me a hug.

"You still love hugging like before," I said.

"Cherry love hug!" she said, imitating what she had said in the past. Both of us had a little laugh, and then she left me cheerfully. After she had left I thought about how impressed I was that she was very fluent in speaking English compared to Crepes Suzette.

Not too long later, the band Strawberry Jam entered the stage. As Peppermint had said, Ginger was not there so she became the replacement. Strangely, Huck was on stage as well. He was holding a mic so I assumed he would be the vocal. I had no idea what to expect, so I just waited standing behind the rows of audiences.

With Strawberry giving a sign, the band started singing... a rap song. I had no idea what to say about that. The song felt strange for me, and truth to be told I was not really fond of it. Kinda ironic because they kept repeating the line 'Hope you like it', which sadly I didn't quite agree with.

After the song was over, the festival continued. The band members had changed to their normal clothes and joined with the others. To everyone's surprise, Ginger Snap returned from her vacation not long afterwards. I myself pretty much enjoyed my time, but I was still concerned about the absence of Albatross. He could be indeed watching from very high above, but uncertainty kept me worried about him. I kept thinking about him while drinking a glass of juice given by Orange Blossom when Huck greeted me from behind.

"Hey, what's with the muse?" Huck said.

"Ah, nothing," I said.

"Anyway, who do you think will be the queen this time?" he asked.

"Who else?" I asked back.

"There's one thing about that, though," he said.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I want to let someone else be the queen this year," Strawberry said, coming suddenly.

"Seriously? Why?" I asked. "Everyone knows that you're the one most deserving for the title!"

"I know, and I'm berry thankful for that," Strawberry said. "But don't want to keep it for myself every single year! I want to share the feeling of having that title!"

"Well, if you say so..." Huck said.

"Have you announced it?" I asked.

"Not yet, but will do soon. See you later!" Strawberry said, leaving us. She then went to the main stage and turned on the mic.

"Well, that's Strawberry," I said. "She sure is overdosed from generosity pills."

"I second that," Huck said.

"Hello, everyone! I have a berry big thing I'd like to announce!" Strawberry said through the mic. Everyone immediately went towards the main stage and stood in front of it.

"First of all, I'm berry excited that we are now having the third Berry Blossom Festival!" she said, and everyone applauded. "However, I also want to say that I won't be the Berry Blossom Queen this year."

The last line caused some gasps among the audiences, and then some of them asked each other in confusion.

"Why, Strawberry? We all want you to be queen! You deserve that!" Raspberry asked, followed by agreement from the crowd.

"I'm berry grateful that you all think so, but I don't want to keep the title every single year! I want to share it with everyone else!" Strawberry replied.

"But how are you gonna choose the new queen?" Angel asked.

"I have a berry great idea for that!" Strawberry said. "Let's have a contest like in the first Berry Blossom Festival! But done properly this time, fair and square!"

Strawberry's last line caused the crowd to question each other.

"Strawberry, have you forgotten that the contest was entirely not about what it takes to be a queen?" Orange asked.

"Yeah, being a queen isn't about how smart, strong, and beautiful you are, am I right?" Ginger said.

"Of course I didn't forget!" Strawberry said. "The contest will be just for the fun of it. I know everyone deserves to be a queen already."

"Well..." Peppermint said. "I think it could work. But who's going to be the contestant?"

There was a silence among the crowd. It seemed that everybody was reluctant because they still thought that Strawberry was still the most deserving. It lasted for a while that Strawberry started to worry.

"I'm in!" Suddenly someone shouted. Everybody looked at the source and saw a girl they had not seen before. It was no doubt that I was the only one who knew that the girl was Pomegranate Parfait.

"Now the flow of time is really screwed..." I said silently. "Maybe I should just stop caring about it now."

Pomegranate then went on stage and approached Strawberry. The crowd were confused and they questioned each other about who she was.

"Who are you, new friend?" Strawberry asked kindly.

"My name is Pomegranate Parfait!" Pomegranate replied confidently.

"Alright, it turns out that we have a berry amazing newcomer in Strawberryland and she is going into the contest!" Strawberry announced. "Who is going to be Pomegranate's opponent?"

The crowd was still as reluctant as before, and then suddenly we heard another voice.

"May I come in even though I'm a boy?" the voice asked. Everybody looked towards the source and saw a boy nobody had ever seen before. Even I had no idea who the boy was. He was about the same age as Pomegranate. He had spiky brown hair and brown eyes. He wore crew neck T-shirt which was dark brown at the neck area and the sleeves, and light brown at the remaining parts. Unlike me and Huck, this boy wore knee shorts of gray color. He wore brown socks and orange shoes. All in all, his appearance looked simple, yet unique compared to any other Strawberryland kids.

"Why not? You can become the Berry Blossom King!" Strawberry said. The boy then went to the stage and stood next to Pomegranate. "What's your name?"

"I'm Alb..." he said, suddenly stopping his speech.

"Alb...?" Strawberry asked. The boy kept silent.

"Al... Almond," the boy said. "I'm Almond Cookie"

"Everyone, please give an applause to both the berry amazing newcomers of Strawberryland, and also our two contestants! Pomegranate Parfait and Almond Cookie!" Strawberry announced, and the crowd gave an applause.

"While I don't disagree with Strawberry letting someone else to be queen, giving it to a total newcomer is sorta a different story," Peppermint whispered to me while still applauding.

"That's Strawberry for you," I said.

The first round of the contest was a quiz. According to what I had heard, in the first festival Purple Pie Man had been the host and he had asked questions impossible for Strawberry to answer while ridiculously easy for her opponent Sour Grapes, such as 'What is Sour Grapes' favorite food?' and 'What time does Sour Grapes wakes up?'. This time, Strawberry was the host.

"The questions I have here are collected from everyone else," Strawberry said while holding small pieces of paper. "First question: What is the name of this land?"

Almond pressed the bell button first. "Strawberryland!"

"That is correct! ten points for you! Next question: Umm... what is my name...?" Strawberry said, reluctantly reading her paper, probably a bit surprised by the question.

Pomegranate was faster. "Berry Princess!"

"I'm berry flattered, Pomegranate. But that's not my name. What is your answer, Almond?" Strawberry asked.

"Strawberry Shortcake isn't it?" he said.

"That is correct! Another ten points for you! Next question: How many boys are there in here?"

Almond was first. "Two!"

"Sorry, Almond. But I don't think that is correct," Strawberry said, and then she looked at Pomegranate.

"Three. Huckleberry Pie, Blackberry Bun, and Almond Cookie," Pomegranate said. "I bet you forgot to count yourself, Almond."

"How did she know our name?" Huck whispered to me.

"I have no idea," I replied with a lie.

"That is correct, Pomegranate! Now the score is 20 for Almond and 10 for Pomegranate. Next question, and this is worth twenty points: How many of us live in a treehouse?" Strawberry said.

Almond was first. "Wild guess. Two?"

"That is correct! Orange Blossom and Blackberry Bun live in a treehouse! Now it is 40 for Almond and 10 for Pomegranate! Don't give up, Pomegranate!" Strawberry said.

"I never said I would," Pomegranate said.

"Okay, next question and this is worth twenty too: What is the name of my little sister?" Strawberry said.

Pomegranate was faster. "Apple Dumplin'!"

"She knew Apple's name too? When and how did she know that?" Huck whispered.

"Don't ask me," I replied.

"Correct! Now the score is 40 for Almond and 30 for Pomegranate! The next question I pick will be the final question and it will be worth thirty. So whoever answers this correctly will win the round!" Strawberry said, randomly picking one piece of paper from her hand. "The final question is... When is... Sour Grapes'... birthday...?"

The question surprised every audience including Strawberry herself, but what was more surprising for them was Pomegranate immediately and confidently pressing the button.

"1 April!" she said, which surprised most of the audience even further because it was correct.

"That is correct! Pomegranate is the winner of this round! Congratulations!" Strawberry said.

"Hold on a second! Something is very wrong here!" Raspberry interrupted, standing up. "How is it possible that Pomegranate knows our names and also the birthday of Sour Grapes?!"

"Yeah, there's no way a newcomer can know all of those!" Angel said, standing up as well.

"There should be some kind of explanation!" Peppermint said, also standing up. The rest of the crowd then questioned each other and they seemed to agree that something was wrong for them.

"Please everyone, calm down! You're scaring her!" Strawberry shouted, putting the crowd into silence. Everyone looked at Pomegranate, who looked startled at the reaction of the crowd.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," Raspberry said.

"Me too. I was just... confused and wondering," Angel said.

"Yeah... I'm sorry," Peppermint said.

Pomegranate was silent and her face seemed like she could start crying anytime soon. Strawberry then approached Pomegranate and gave her a warm hug. I couldn't see Pomegranate's face, but she seemed to be crying on Strawberry's chest. What I saw made me realize that as mischievous as she was, Pomegranate was still just a little girl after all.

"Pomegranate," Strawberry said, still hugging Pomegranate. "Our friends still want some explanation from you, but you don't have to explain if you don't want to."

"I... I... want... Blackberry," Pomegranate said. Strawberry then called me to come, which I complied.

"She wants you," Strawberry said with Pomegranate still in her hug.

"You explain," Pomegranate said, releasing the hug and facing towards the crowd with watery eyes. She immediately wiped them dry with her hand.

"Everyone..." I said to the crowd with my hands on Pomegranate's shoulders. "Meet Pomegranate Parfait, daughter of Purple Pie Man."

The crowd reacted to my last line with a big 'What!?'.

"She came from the future seven years ahead of our time to see what the past is like," I said, then suddenly Pomegranate took something from her pocket and held it high. A blinding light came from it, making me unable to see anything. The next thing I saw was my whole view being tinted green and everything was frozen like the flow of time had been stopped. Pomegranate was still standing next to me, and she was not tinted green like the rest.

"Too much drama," Pomegranate said, pressing some buttons on what looked like a remote.

"You've been acting? What is that thing? And why didn't I get frozen?" I asked.

"Yeah, I've been acting. I wanted to see how nice the friends here are towards a total newcomer. Not that impressive, but still fine," she replied. "Though I must say that Strawberry's hug felt kinda... warm."

"Everyone really fell for that," I said.

"This is Time Remote III. Your future self lent it to me. It can also freeze time, but it won't work on the one holding the remote, and yourself," she replied, holding the remote high. Another bright light came out, but not as blinding as before.

"What did you just do?" I asked as the light faded out.

"Some memory alteration to preserve the flow of time," she replied. "They won't remember ever seeing me."

"By the way, did you say my future self lent that remote to you?" I asked.

"Yeah, with warnings like I've told you the first time we met," she replied. "He also warned me about a chance to temporarily losing some memories after each time travel."

"That explains why you said you had never stolen the Sun Stone when we met for the second time," I said.

"Yeah, I guess so," she said.

"I suppose that makes me king by default, then," suddenly we heard Almond speaking. Both of us were surprised by the fact that Almond was not affected by the time freeze.

"Alright, that surprised me," Pomegranate said. "Who, or _what_ are you?"

"You can try guessing," he said as he walked towards us. To his surprise, I approached him and hugged him. "Hey, what are you doing...?"

"I'm happy that you now can have fun with others just like me... Albatross," I said.

"Albatross?" Pomegranate said, seeming surprised again. "That boy is your ship?"

"Heh, I guess I have given the answer away when Strawberry asked for my name," he said with a little laugh. "But call me Almond when I'm like this, okay?"

"Sure, Almond. I'm happy for you in any case," I said, then I released my hug. Pomegranate then immediately approached him and pinched both his cheeks.

"Hey, that hurts! What are you doing?" he asked. Pomegranate then released the pinch.

"Sorry! I just can't believe what I see now!" she said. "Anyway, the time freeze will be over soon. See you next time!"

After saying those, Pomegranate created a vortex and disappeared into it. Immediately after she disappeared, the time freeze was over and my view was no longer tinted green. Everybody else looked at us, seeming a bit confused.

"What are you waiting for?!" I shouted, grabbing Almond's right hand and holding it high. "Applause to the winner of the first round!"

Immediately, the crowd and Strawberry applauded.

"Are you sure about this?" Almond whispered.

"As sure as I can be," I whispered back.

"Congratulations, Almond!" Strawberry said. "But it is berry strange that I don't remember who your opponent was."

"It was me, don't you remember? You're tired, maybe we should take a short break before continuing to the next round?" I said.

"Maybe you're right," she said, then she noticed stains of Pomegranate's tears on her shirt. "Why my shirt is a bit wet?"

"You were sweating," I said. "This stage is a bit hot with all the spotlights."

"Oh yeah, you're berry right!" she said.

"Looks like we got away," Almond whispered.

"I hope so," I whispered back. "By the way, looks like you are even more mysterious than I have ever thought."

"Good luck figuring me out," he said with a smirk and chuckle.

.

.

Later that night, the festival was over and the two of us were walking to my home.

"So let me get this straight," I said.

"Okay," Almond said.

"You, Albatross, transformed into what you are now. Almond Cookie," I said.

"That's right," he said.

"And you can change back," I said. "But with a catch."

"Yes," he said. "I only can change back into spaceship once a day, and I only can keep it for five minutes."

"That's a huge handicap if you ask me," I said. "How come?"

"I had no idea that my transformation is nearly irreversible," he said. "I thought I could change back and forth as I like."

"Okay, I see," I said. "But how did you know about the five minutes limit?"

"I... I don't know. I just... know that," he said.

"Alright, any other special thing I should know?" I asked.

"Most of the magic from my spaceship form are gone when I'm in this form, though a few tiny bits still remain. Like this," he said, emitting small fire from his hands.

"The two Flame Stones," I said.

"Yeah, but it really hurts doing this," he said, putting off the fire. Burn damage could be seen on his palms, but they disappeared within seconds.

"The regenerative stone," I said.

"And I think the gravity magic from the Black Rainbowberry is in my hair," he said, pointing at his gravity-defying hair. "The rest are probably gone completely."

"You forgot the Sun Stone," I said. "There are no other possible explanation for your sprinting across the berry fields without sweating."

"I missed that, alright," he said with a laugh.

"I'm wondering about your looks," I said. "How and why did you get that?"

"I don't know," he replied. "It was random, I guess."

"If you ask me, you have... unique looks," I said. "Simple, yet unique."

"Heh, really?" he said. "Good for me then."

"I'm not sure about that," I said. "In any case, do you plan on telling everyone else that you're Albatross?"

"If any of them asks me 'Are you Albatross?', I'll tell the truth. Otherwise, I won't say anything," he replied. "You can tell them if you like."

"I'll follow your plan," I said. "If anybody asks 'Is Almond Albatross?' I'll tell. That's all."

"I guess I'll be living with you from now on, right?" he said.

"You've been living with me from the start," I said. "No difference."

"Heh, I guess you're right," he said. "Your Majesty."

"Hey, I've already told you to quit calling me that!" I said. "The festival's over already!"

So, from that day, my home got a new kid. Almond's presence at home changed my life significantly. He was very cheerful, noisy, and he loved dragging me out from home every single day to play with others or just to walk around the land. He was very good at playing berry ball, skating, cycling, and any other physical thing. His infinite stamina made things worse for me and for everyone else as well because he would ask for more rounds even when we were already exhausted. Despite all those, everybody in Strawberryland loved him like any other friends, and I myself was no exception. I slowly began to forget that he was my spaceship I had to figure out. Instead, I started to consider him as my brother.

"Maybe it's better this way..." I said to myself while lying down in muse on the sofa in my house.

"Hey, what are you waiting for!? Let's go out and play!" Almond shouted from near the main door.

"Again?" I asked. "Ah well, right behind you," I continued, getting up from the sofa to follow him.

-End of Chapter 9-

Referenced episode: Playing to Beat The Band. The second episode of Rockaberry Roll DVD.


	13. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Spaceship Down Under The Wheel

"Hey, Almond," I said while sitting on a sofa, reading a comic book. Almond was awkwardly practicing some sports moves I didn't know about.

"Yeah?" he replied without stopping what he was doing.

"I'm thinking of going to visit a friend today," I said.

"Like we always do every single day," he said. "Who is it this time?"

"Carmel Corn," I said.

"The farmer girl living West from here?" he said, still continuing his awkward moves.

"You know her already?" I asked, closing my comic book.

"Strawberry told me about her once," he said, finally stopping his awkward moves. "So, what are we waiting for?"

"Well, it's actually pretty far. So..." I said, looking at him.

"Heh, no problem! I'll take you there!" he said. He then started running towards the open window in the house and jumped out from it. Immediately, there was a bright light outside and once it faded I walked to the window and looked outside. What I saw next was Albatross floating right in front of the window, ready to fly. Before I could say anything, the canopy opened and he sucked me into the cockpit with his gravity field. When I sat on the pilot seat, the monitor in front of me showed a picture of Almond Cookie from chest above with a five minute countdown right above his head.

"Are you ready to go?" the Almond in the monitor asked.

"Do you know where she lives?" I asked back.

"No!" he replied with a laugh. "But I'm now scanning the area to the west... A-ha! Found her!"

"How far actually is the range of your scan?" I asked, wondering.

"The whole planet!" he replied with another laugh. "Oh, I found a surprising thing at the farm!"

"What is it?" I asked.

"Strawberry is there as well!" he said.

"The more the merrier," I said. "Let's go!"

Without any more sayings, Albatross flew towards Carmel Corn's farm. We arrived there within one minute, and Albatross landed next to Strawberry's car. After I jumped off, he transformed back into Almond Cookie with a bright light. Both of us then walked to Carmel's house, but before we got close somebody opened the door. It was Strawberry and she saw us.

"What a berry big surprise! Blackberry and Almond!" she said in excitement. Carmel Corn followed her soon enough, along with Custard and Pupcake.

"Blackberry! It's been a long time!" Carmel said, giving me a brief hug. "And who is this?"

"Carmel Corn, meet my brother Almond Cookie," I said, which surprised the two girls, two pets, and Almond himself.

"Brother?" Almond asked.

"We live in the same house and we're very close. We're better said as brothers don't you think?" I said.

"You have no home of your own?" Carmel asked.

"Well, it's kinda complicated," Almond said. "But yeah, that's right."

"In any case, what should we do now that there are four of us?" I asked. "I mean, six."

"Oh, you haven't learned about what happened here..." Carmel said with a sigh.

"Eh? Is there something wrong?" Almond asked.

"I will explain," Strawberry said. "But let's all come in first."

All of us then entered the house. Inside, Strawberry told us that most livestock of the farm had been mysteriously disappearing recently. Carmel had thought that the animals ran away, but this morning they found tire tracks. That meant someone had been stealing the animals little by little every night.

"That's just plain horrible!" Almond said.

"It is! That's why we are planning to watch over the remaining animals tonight," Strawberry said.

"Alright, I'm with you," I said.

That night, we divided our task to watch over various areas of the farm. I got to watch over the chicken coop with Pupcake while Almond got to watch over the barn with Custard. I tried to stay awake, but I eventually fell asleep right next to the chicken coop door.

Later, I woke up in the morning, horrified by the fact that I fell asleep during the watch. I immediately checked the chicken coop and found out that all the remaining hens had disappeared. Pupcake was whining inside, probably feeling guilty for falling asleep. I then immediately ran to tell the others, and I found Strawberry, Custard, and Carmel together near the horse stable. Carmel looked very depressed.

"What happened?" I asked.

"We fell asleep, and we lost more animals," Strawberry said.

"This is hopeless..." Carmel said.

"No don't give up yet!" I said. "Wait! Where's Almond?"

"I thought he was with you already!" Custard said.

"Don't tell me that..." Strawberry said, gasping.

All of us then ran towards the barn and found it empty. We called for Almond but there was no answer at all. While looking for him, I noticed a piece of paper placed next to the door of the barn. I took the paper and realized that it was a letter left by Almond.

"What letter is that, Blackberry?" Strawberry asked while approaching me. Carmel was with her as well.

"Looks like Almond left this letter," I said, reading it.

_Hey,_  
_Eventually, I'm not in the mood of helping after all._  
_Later! I'm going home!_  
_Peace! Almond out!_

_Maybe someday I'll come again,_  
_Even though I'm not sure._

_P.S._  
_Remember your promise to take me to an amusement park_

"So he went home?" Carmel asked.

"No," Strawberry said. "He's in danger!"

"You realized it too, Strawberry?" I said. "Indeed, he might have been kidnapped by the one who stole the animals."

"How did you know?" Carmel asked.

"Read the first letter of each line except the last two from top to bottom," I said. Carmel then looked into the letter once again.

"H... E... L... P... M... E..." she said. "Help me!"

"The kidnapper probably forced him to write this letter so we wouldn't get suspicious about his disappearance," I said.

"We have to do something!" Strawberry said, quite panicked.

"Calm down! Panicking won't solve anything!" I said.

"So what should we do?" Carmel asked. "We don't know where he is being held now."

"Well, not really," I said. "The last line is definitely a hint from him. I've never promised him such thing."

"Or maybe it's not a hint..." Strawberry said, looking at something. The rest of us looked at the same way, and we saw an amusement park right above a nearby uphill slope.

"A plain giveaway, huh?" I said. "I'll go check."

"I'll go with you," Strawberry said.

"No, you two stay here," I said. "I can vanish if they spot me, but you two can't."

"Vanish?" Carmel asked.

"Blackberry has a badge of invisibility," Strawberry said. "I understand. Be berry careful, Blackberry."

"Got it," I said, starting to walk towards the amusement park. While walking there I remembered that the location of the park was the same as the abandoned farm I had visited before meeting Carmel Corn for the first time. I wondered about who had used the farm to build an amusement park, but my top priority was rescuing Almond so I decided to save it for later.

When I got close to the park, I started to walk slowly and silently towards the house near the park. I could hear people talking inside but I couldn't hear what the conversation was about, so I sneaked to an open window and crouched under it.

"Tonight we will take the remaining sheeps," a voice said. It was a voice of a man.

"Finally, I'm getting sick of this!" another voice said. It was a voice of a woman. It didn't take long for me to realize that they were Purple Pie Man and Sour Grapes.

"Just one more step and we will have that farm to tear down into a parking lot! Can you imagine that!?" Pie Man said.

"I can imagine more failures!" Sour Grapes said. "That Strawberry Shortcake always unbelievably finds a way to get through any rough situation!"

"Heh! There's no way she can stop me this time!" Pie Man said. "Anyway, let's go and survey that farm. That girl might be selling the farm in despair already."

"With Strawberry Shortcake near her, I don't think so," Sour Grapes said. "And what about the boy we caught? I'm sure his disappearance has made his friends suspicious already."

"I made him write a letter saying that he's going home and I've put the letter near the place we caught him," Pie Man said.

"Do you think they will fall for that? I don't think so," Sour Grapes said.

"Are you coming or not?" Pie Man asked.

"Alright alright," Sour Grapes said. I then heard the front door opened. I put Blind Spot on and followed them to hear if there was any more information I could get.

"That boy is a strange one for sure," Sour Grapes said while walking. "All other kids have already fallen asleep, while he didn't look sleepy at all that we had to capture him."

"Stop concerning that boy!" Pie Man said. "Just let him enjoy his time... under the wheel."

After saying that, the two adults hopped on their wagon and left the place. Once they were far, I took Blind Spot off and then I started thinking about where they could be keeping Almond. I didn't understand about Pie Man's last line, so I went into the house. I didn't find Almond there, so I went out and looked around. My eyes landed on one part of the amusement park, and then I realized something.

"The Ferris wheel," I said to myself. I then ran towards the Ferris wheel, and when I arrived I found Almond there. He was sitting on the ground right next to one Ferris wheel support column, tied up with rope around his body and gagged with duct tape. His legs were free, but an extension of the rope was tied around the support column, so he couldn't go anywhere.

"Almond!" I shouted, running to him. He saw me and his eyes showed a relief. I then immediately took the tape from his mouth.

"I'm glad you came," he said while I worked on releasing the rope. "You came because you understood the letter, right?"

"Yeah," I said.

"Sorry for the trouble," he said. "They caught me off guard."

"Never mind that. Let's just get out of here," I said. However, the knot was very tight and I had difficulties releasing it.

"Still not done yet?" he asked.

"The knot is too tight and I don't bring a scissor or such," I said, still trying.

"I think you should... RUN!" he said, suddenly changing his expression. I looked behind and saw that Purple Pie Man has returned and he was running to me.

"I cannot leave you here!" I said.

"There's no use staying if you get caught! Just run! I'll be fine!" he said as Purple Pie Man was getting closer. Almond was right, so I complied and ran away. I then took Blind Spot from my pocket to put it on my shirt. However, because of panic I dropped the badge and stepped on it while running, rendering it broken. Immediately, I tripped and fell to the ground. My right leg felt really hurt and I couldn't get up.

"This seems familiar..." Pie Man said as he approached me. "Ah yes, you were like this the first time we met. Don't you remember, kid?"

"Heh, I would not forget that," I said.

"And it seems history has repeated itself. Unfortunately, this time I have no first aid kit..." he said, getting closer and laughing.

Later, I found myself and Almond sitting on a seat of the Ferris wheel next to each other. Our hands were tied behind our back, and our legs were tied as well. Because I had indeed sprained my ankle, being tied there felt really hurt.

"Now I will just put you where your friends can't save you!" Pie Man said, activating a lever. The Ferris wheel moved, bringing our seat towards the top of the wheel. When our seat reached the very top, the wheel stopped moving, leaving us stuck at the top. The view was actually nice, but having to view it while being stuck and tied up was not enjoyable at all. I looked to the bottom, and I could see Pie Man and Sour Grapes walking towards the house. They seemed to be talking, but they were too far from me so I couldn't hear anything.

"Well," Almond said. "Any bright ideas now?"

"Uh... I don't know...," I said. "My ankle hurts and I cannot think clearly."

"Might as well just enjoy the view," he said. "It's not so bad."

"Easy for you to say," I said. "Carmel's farm is in danger and now we are here, all tied up and helpless."

"Hey, I want to ask you something," he said.

"What?" I asked.

"Do you still want to figure out what I am?" he asked.

"Not anymore," I replied. "I've figured it out."

"Really? Then what is your guess this time." he asked.

"You're my brother," I said.

"Huh?" he asked, seeming confused. "But that's..."

"I don't care about what you really are anymore. All I know is that I love you as my brother and I want you to stay that way," I said.

"Well..." he said, blushing a bit. "If you say so, then fine. In fact, I'm kinda flattered now."

"Come on, that's not like you," I said with a laugh.

"Let's go back to the farm then," he said.

"I guess you already have the same idea, huh?" I said. He nodded, standing up.

"I think we're really brothers after all," he said, leaping to the bottom. A few seconds later, Albatross emerged and sucked me into his cockpit. He then flew away from the place.

"Sorry, I can't release you while in this form," Almond said from the monitor.

"That's fine," I said, sitting on the pilot seat, still all tied up. Seconds later, he landed on an open field at Carmel Corn's farm. He then used his gravity field to put me on the ground and after that he transformed back to Almond Cookie.

"Pie Man is really good at making knots if you ask me," Almond said, trying to release me. "I'll burn the rope."

After saying those, Almond emitted fire from his hand and burned the ropes on my arms and legs. However, because of my sprained ankle with the addition of having been tied up right there, I couldn't walk well. I had to walk shoulder to shoulder with Almond to get to Carmel's house. When we arrived, Strawberry and Carmel came out from the house.

"Blackberry! What happened?" Strawberry shouted, running to us with Carmel following her.

"He sprained his ankle when he saved me," Almond said.

"I'll get you treatment!" Carmel said, running back inside.

"Are you alright?" Strawberry asked.

"Don't worry, I'll be just fine," I said.

Later, I was sitting on a sofa inside Carmel's house. Carmel was applying treatment to my ankle while Strawberry and Almond stood next to her.

"Sorry for the bother," I said.

"Don't mention it," Carmel said.

"Strawberry, I found out that the culprit was Purple Pie Man and Sour Grapes," I said. "They want to change this farm into a parking lot."

"Really? That no good Pie Man!" Strawberry said, looking upset.

"Turn my farm into... a parking lot? Oh, this is hopeless..." Carmel said, finishing the treatment.

"Hmm..." Strawberry said, thinking. "No, it's going to be all right! I have an idea!"

"What's your idea?" Almond asked.

"First, I have to call my other friends," Strawberry said, taking her cell phone. She then called Angel, Orange, and Huck, telling them to come at the next day.

"Now tell me how I can help," I said.

"No, you don't have to. Just take a rest until your ankle heals," Strawberry said.

"But I'll feel useless if you say that," I said.

"Don't feel like that, Blackberry! You saved Almond and you found out who the culprits are!" Strawberry said. "Just leave the rest to us, okay?"

"If you say so..." I said, reluctantly agreeing. I then spent the rest of the day resting on the bed in Carmel's bedroom. At night, the pain on my ankle kept me awake for unknown hours until I finally fell asleep. At the next day, I woke up still with pain on my ankle, though it had gotten better compared to the night before. I then got up into sitting position, took my glasses from the shelf next to the bed, and put it on, only to find that I had overslept and it was almost lunch time.

"I wonder what everyone else is doing now," I said. Then, someone opened the door and came in. It was Almond.

"Overslept much?" he asked while grinning.

"Yeah..." I said. "The pain kept me awake for hours last night."

"I see," he said, approaching me. He then sat on the bed near my feet.

"What is everyone else doing right now?" I asked.

"You better see it for yourself," he said, revealing that he has been carrying Phoenix Tear with him.

"Phoenix Tear? Have you just transformed again to take it from our house?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said, activating the device. It then emitted blue aura, healing my ankle.

"Thanks," I said, getting off from the bed. "Let's go now."

The two of us then went out from the house, and we saw that the farm had been made into a country fair. The fair had a lot of people visiting to do various activities. What I wondered there was that somehow all of Carmel's livestock had returned.

"Looks like I have missed a lot of things," I said.

"You sure have," Almond said.

"Hey, isn't that..." I said, noticing someone familiar among the crowd. "Pomegranate Parfait?"

"It sure is," Almond said. I then approached her.

"Hi, Pomegranate. We meet again," I said.

"Oh, hey Blackberry," Pomegranate said. "What a nice fair, don't you think?"

"It sure is," I said.

"Ah, Papa and Auntie Grapes!" Pomegranate said, looking to a direction. I looked at the same direction and saw Purple Pie Man and Sour Grapes. They seemed to be talking to Strawberry and Carmel.

"Don't call him as your father in front of him, okay?" I said.

"I know! I'm not that stupid!" she said. After that the two adults walked away from the fair, looking upset. "Auntie Grapes told me a lot of stories about Papa's past. She said while giggling that there were a lot of failures after failures."

"Really?" I asked with a little giggle

"Yeah, but he finally succeeded in the end!" Pomegranate said. "By the way, I'm going home now! I've seen enough of the past and I'm very happy! Bye!"

After saying those words, she ran off to the back of a stand and disappeared without letting me to ask about what she had said.

"She said that in the end Purple Pie Man succeeded? But that means..." I said, looking at Almond.

"Well, if she said so then it is probably correct," Almond said. "Purple Pie Man will eventually succeed in taking over Strawberryland."

"But..." I said, still pretty much shocked and in disbelief.

"Hey, cut it out," he said. "Of course nobody will let that happen. Remember what I said? Your future is whatever you make it, so make it a good one! That applies to Strawberryland's future as well! We all will work together to make the future of the land a good one!"

"I know!" I said. "It's just that... if let's say we succeed to prevent Purple Pie Man from taking over Strawberryland... Is there a chance that it will cause Pomegranate not to have been born?"

"Now that you mention it... I have no idea," he said. "But believe me, thinking over it too much won't solve anything. Let's just remember what I have said, live our life, and be prepared for anyting that will happen next."

"I guess you're right," I said.

"By the way, once we get home I'll tell you the truth about what I actually am," he said.

"Huh? But why?" I asked.

"You no longer care about it now. Keeping it secret is not fun anymore," he said. "Of course I'll stay as the brother who loves you."

"If you say so, then thanks... brother," I said. Both of us then decided to enjoy our time in the country fair.

However, I still couldn't stop thinking about Purple Pie Man's eventual success...

-End of Chapter 10-

Referenced episode: Down on The Farm. The second episode of Big Country Fun DVD.


	14. Chapter 10 Epilogue

Chapter 10.5: Truth

The country fair was over, and Carmel's farm had been saved. All of us were very happy that Strawberry's plan was a big success. After cleaning up with everyone, I and Almond decided to go home.

"Really? But it's getting dark. You should spend the night here," Carmel said when we told her.

"She's berry right, Blackberry," Strawberry said. "Why don't you spend the night here first?"

"Thanks for the offer," I said. "But I have something important to do with my brother here."

"Don't worry, we got good transport!" Almond said.

"Good transport?" Carmel asked.

"Oh yeah, Carmel has never met Albatross," Strawberry said. "He's Blackberry's spaceship, and he's alive!"

"Really? I'd like to see him!" Carmel said, seeming amazed.

"We're kinda in a hurry, but you can have a quick look, I think," I said. "Let's go outside."

All of us then went outside. Without anybody knowing, Almond sneaked to the back of the house and quickly transformed into Albatross. He then flew to the front of the house and picked me up into the cockpit. Carmel was very astonished on what she saw.

"So long, see you again soon," Albatross said with his original voice, then he quickly flew towards my home. However, he landed roughly near Blueberry's house and transformed back into Almond Cookie before I could get off. As the result, I fell to the ground pretty hard.

"Sorry, that was the very last second I could have for today," he said.

"I guess we have to walk the rest of the way, then," I said, getting up. We then walked home. When we arrived inside, I immediately sat on the sofa. Almond then sat next to me.

"Well," he said. "I told you that I would tell you what I am once we got home."

"Tell me, then," I said.

"But before that, any final guess?" he asked.

"Actually, I have one," I said.

"Really? What is it?" he asked.

"Are you... the regenerating stone from The Center of The Planet?" I said. There was a silence for a moment.

"You're amazing, brother," he said. "That is correct."

"But I still don't know many things about you," I said.

"Then listen up," he said.

"Okay, I'm listening," I said.

"I'm the soul of the planet," he said.

"Soul? But that means..." I said, realizing that I had taken the soul of Planet Oz.

"Don't worry! You only took a fragment!" he said. "The planet is still fine without this tiny fragment."

"That's a relief," I said. "Tell me more."

"I can telepathically communicate with all life forms on the planet," he said. "Though I had one problem."

"Is that how you could read my mind?" I asked and he nodded. "And one problem? What was it?"

"Language barrier," he said.

"Did you mean you couldn't understand our language?" I asked and he nodded. "But now you can. How?"

"It all started when we arrived on this planet," he said.

"This planet?" I asked.

"Yeah, apparently this planet has its own soul too," he said. "I tried communicating with it, and it replied."

"What did it say?" I asked.

"It was happy to have a visitor. I then learned that unlike me, the soul of this planet doesn't have any language barrier but it cannot communicate telepathically," he said. "It only can watch things happening on the planet."

"That's interesting," I said. "So he taught you our language?"

"He?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think it's better to mention the soul of this planet as 'him' just like I did to you back then," I replied.

"Alright if you say so," he said. "Yes, he taught me little by little about it."

"I see, but until now your biggest mystery for me is about what happened when you were wrecked at Porcupine Peak," I said.

"Oh... That..." he said. "Back then, I actually didn't care much about what happened. But thanks to you, I got the motivation to regenerate and go to help."

"Me?" I asked.

"He told me what happened to you after that," he said. "He said that you were crying..."

"Stop that!" I interrupted with blush sticker on my face. "It's embarrassing!"

"But you showed that you actually cared about me," he said. "There was still a problem though."

"What was it?" I asked.

"My regeneration was not enough to bring myself back to full function," he replied.

"But you could," I said.

"That was thanks to the Sun Stone," he said. "It gave me energy to push beyond my limit."

"I see. Oh, let me guess," I said. "You knew about Banana Candy before we met her because you learned about her from this planet in the future, right?"

"Bzzt! Incorrect," he said, grinning. "Not completely wrong, though. From future me."

"Alright, now I'm starting to get it," I said. "Then how did you transform into what you are now?"

"That morning after we talked about the festival, I talked a bit with him," he said. "He said he could change me to become human."

"Really? How?" I asked.

"He said about using his soul power for that," he said. "But he warned me that this transformation would be permanent and there was no promise about how I would look. I took some time to consider, and in the end I decided to take the chance."

"Where were you in the morning of the festival?" I asked.

"I went to where he resides," he said. "It was a very large and very deep crater located on an island in the middle of the ocean. Don't ask me about detail. It'll be too long to explain."

"Alright if you say so," I said.

"In the end I met him and he warned me once more. I was determined so I told him to do it. And here I am," he said. "After that he teleported me to Strawberryland, just in time for the festival."

"Wait a second. You were warned that the transformation is permanent? But you still can morph back to Albatross, though limited," I said, wondering.

"I can use my own soul power to force a reversion, but like I said it cannot last long. Can't expect much soul power from a fragment, I guess?" he said.

"Well, in any case, I'm happy to have you here with me," I said. "Oh, one more thing! I still wonder about what the future me has said about his Albatross being stonger than you."

"Ah yes, the future me didn't say anything about it, but I figured it out myself this morning," he said.

"Really? Tell me," I said.

"My powers grow as we speak," he said. "Not much, though. It will take months and years to see any difference."

"I see," I said. Then I yawned.

"You should go to sleep. It's getting late," he said.

"Yeah you're right..." I said, standing up. "Good night."

"Good night, bro," he said as I walked to my bedroom, leaving him sitting alone in the living room.

-End of Chapter 10.5-


	15. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Return to Greenhill

At the morning after the night when Almond had told me his true identity, I woke up like in any usual day. I then left my bedroom and found him still sitting on the same sofa.

"Morning, bro!" he greeted.

"Morning..." I said, still half asleep.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked.

"Not really," I said. "I couldn't get you off my mind."

"Eh, why?" he asked.

"Unlike any other kids, you don't sleep," I said. "It must be boring, having to spend every night alone without sleep."

"Not at all!" he said with a giggle. "Do you know what I do every night?"

"You haven't told me anything about that. How should I know?" I said.

"Alright alright," he said. "I watch life."

"Watch life? What do you mean?" I asked.

"By telepathically connecting myself with this planet's soul, I can watch everything happening on the planet. It never gets boring because there are so many things to see and life always changes," he explained.

"I'm glad to hear that," I said. "By the way, is that how your scanner actually works? And also how you hear what I hear?"

"You nailed it!" he said with a grin. I smiled to him with a relieved sigh.

Later, I was working on my desk while Almond was reading my books. I made electricity noises and sparkles which drew his attention. He then approached me out of curiosity.

"Hey, what are you making?" he asked.

"Well, I just remembered another friend I haven't met for years," I replied.

"Then let's go! I'll take you there no problem!" he said.

"You can't," I said.

"Eh? Why?" he asked.

"He lives in a different world," I said. "That's why I'm making this."

"What is it actually?" he asked.

"I'm recreating Time Remote II. I still have no idea about how to make Time Remote III so this is what I'm making now," I replied.

"I see," he said. "Could you tell me about this friend?"

"Well..." I said. "His name is Randy, but he's usually called Buddy. He lives in a big city named Greenhill."

"And then?" he asked.

"Let's go and see for yourself," I said. "The remote is done."

"Right behind you!" he said in excitement.

"Greenhill!" I said, activating the remote. A dimension door appeared and both of us jumped into it. When we came out, we ended up just outside the edge of a big city which was very familiar to me.

"This sure brings back memories," I said.

"What a big city!" Almond said. "And very different than Strawberryland!"

"Let's go to his house," I said, starting to walk.

"Like I said, I'm right behind you," he said, following me. "By the way, this planet has no soul. My scanner won't work here."

"Alright," I said while still walking. "Oh, before I forget, in here we go by different name. My name here is David, though Buddy knows my real name already."

"Is that so? Then I'll be..." he said, thinking.

"Alby," I said.

"That name again? Fine, whatever," he said.

We walked through the city, looking around to find our way to Buddy's house. The city roads were still mostly the same as the last time, so it didn't take me long to find the way. Soon, we arrived at Buddy's house which haven't changed at all.

"Here we are," I said.

"So this is Buddy's house?" Almond said. "Pretty nice,"

"Let's go in," I said. I then went to the front door and pressed the doorbell button. Soon, someone opened the door, and it was Buddy's mom. She looked at me for a few seconds, then she looked surprised.

"David? What a surprise! It has been a long time!" she said, hugging me. "And who is this lovely boy?"

"Meet Alby. He's my brother," I said.

"Good afternoon," Almond said.

"Please come in!" Buddy's mom said. We then entered the house. "Make yourselves at home!"

Both of us then sat on a sofa while Buddy's mom went to the back of the house, probably to get a drink for us.

"Is she Buddy's mother?" Almond said, and I nodded. Soon, she came back bringing three glasses of red syrup. She then put all three glasses on the table in front of us and sat on a couch next to the table.

"I actually kinda forgot how long since the last time I was here," I said, taking one glass. "About five years I guess?"

"I remember Randy being three years old back then, and he will become eight in four months," she said. "Yes, almost five years."

"I see. How has the family been doing?" I asked, taking a sip.

"We're doing great!" she replied with a smile. "How about you?"

"We're all as fine as ever," I said. "Where's Buddy? Oh, I mean... Randy. He's no longer called Buddy, I suppose?"

"Indeed, he stopped being called with that name since he turned six," she said. "He's visiting Mary and Candy next door. He should be back soon."

"I see. I think I will wait here, then," I said.

"I'm home!" suddenly we heard a voice of a kid entering the front door. We still couldn't see the kid because our view to the front door was obstructed by a wall.

"Welcome home, Randy!" the mother said. "Your other friends are here."

"Who? Nick and Terry?" the voice asked.

"No, see for yourself!" the mother replied. Soon, the kid came to our view. He was as tall as Apple Dumplin' and he no longer wore his blue overall. Instead, he wore green short sleeve shirts which had a thick black stripe at the tip of each sleeve and also across the chest. He wore black pants like mine, and his shoes were white and blue. He saw me and became silent for a while.

"...Blackberry?" he asked.

"Long time no see," I said.

"Nice to meet you," Almond said, getting up to approach him. "I'm Alby, his brother."

Almond approached Randy to offer a handshake, but Randy bowed his head and kept silent.

"Something wrong?" Almond asked.

"... away," Randy said in low voice.

"Huh?" Almond asked.

"I said GO AWAY!" Randy yelled, surprising everyone else there.

"Randy, you're not supposed to yell at your friends!" the mother said, getting upset.

"If they don't go away, then I'll go away!" Randy said, and then he immediately ran outside the house. There was a silence for a brief moment.

"I'm sorry. He's usually not like that," the mother said.

"It's fine," I said. "Actually, that made me wonder if there's something wrong with him."

"I have no idea, unfortunately," the mother said. "Randy is always nice to any of his friends. That was the first time I saw him like that."

"I see..." I said. "We will go look for him."

"You don't have to. He will eventually come back," the mother said.

"We have to," I said. "There's definitely something wrong with him, and we want to help him."

"Thank you for your concern," the mother said, and we left the house. We then stopped at the roadside just in front of the house.

"Hey, I know that we want to help him, but do we know where he is now?" Almond asked.

"No, but I can think of some possible places. Though I don't know if he still visits those places. It has been years after all," I said.

"Hey, you two!" suddenly we heard a voice of a girl. We looked at the source and saw a girl about Almond's height looking at us. "I believe you don't know something!"

"Uhh, that's right," I said.

"You have to know that not knowing something is forbidden, because not knowing is a sin, and sin is forbidden!" she said.

"Is that supposed to be a joke?" Almond said. The girl then sighed.

"This doesn't work anymore," she said. "I used to do this to him all the time, and he would get confused. Now everyone's too smart for that."

"Him? You mean Randy?" I asked.

"And I used to make fun of his name, and then he always said that his name was Buddy," she said. "Not fun anymore. Growing up really sucks!"

"So it was him indeed," I said. "You see, he went off somewhere and we don't know where he went."

"I know some places," she said. "I'll take you there."

"You go with her, Alby." I said.

"Me? What about you?" Almond asked.

"Splitting up will be faster to look for him," I said. "I'll look for him in places I remember."

"If you say so," Almond said. "But how can we meet again?"

"I'll return right here by sunset," I said. "Oh, I haven't introduced myself. I'm David."

"So you're the guy he once told me about!" the girl said. "He said that your name was Blackberry something, but you don't really have such silly name, right?"

"This is my brother Alby," I said.

"Now that's a silly name! Who gave you that name?" she asked.

"This silly guy," Almond said, choking my neck with his left arm and grinning.

"Anyway, I'm Mary. I have a sister, but Candy is now taking a nap," she said. "Shall we get going?"

"Sure," Almond said.

"Good luck finding him," I said.

"You too," Almond said, and then we split up to begin our search.

-To be Continued-

Referenced episode: None.

Referenced outside source: Daisuki BuBu ChaCha anime


	16. Chapter 11 Blackberry's Path

Chapter 11: Blackberry's Path

Almond and I parted ways to search for Randy, our friend who suddenly hated us for unknown reason and went away. Almond went with Mary, Randy's friend next door, while I went alone because I was more familiar to the area than Almond who came there for the first time. While walking, I kept wondering why Randy suddenly hated us even though he had been still nice the last time I had met him. Maybe something had happened during my years long absence? Or maybe he was mad because I had not visited him for years? In the end, there was no way I could figure out the reason without asking Randy himself.

My first search point was the old house where an old lady lived with a ghost named Sarah. When I arrived there, I was quite surprised that the old house no longer looked old and haunted. The house was clean and neatly painted, and the broken windows had been fixed, unlike the house I remembered. I knocked on the door, but there was no answer. I knocked again, and there was still no answer at all.

"Hey, aren't you... David?" suddenly someone asked from behind. I turned around and saw that it was Randy's father.

"Randy's father? It's been a long time!" I said.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I'm looking for the old lady who lives here," I said.

"Oh..." he said. "Let's sit down for a bit."

Both of us then sat on the stairs right in front of the door of the house. The father looked a bit sad, which gave me a bad feeling.

"Is there something wrong?" I asked.

"I'm sorry to say this, David," he said. "The lady who lived here, is no longer here..."

"What...?" I asked. "You mean she's..."

"She became one with the stars two years ago," he said, looking to the sky. There was a silence for a moment.

"How come? And why this house is now very clean and tidy?" I asked.

"Her time had come, like any other old human" he said. "This house was inherited to her distant relative, and he had been taking good care of it ever since then."

"I see..." I said.

"Ah, there he is!" he said, pointing to a man walking from the distance. It was a rather fat man with thick dark brown beard. He wore green jacket with yellow shirt underneath and blue jeans.

"Him?" I asked.

"Yes," he said. He then stood up and approached the man once he got close to us. "Hello."

"DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" The man replied with a thunderous roar which surprised me, but Randy's father was not so surprised.

"People in town call him Mr. Daa because of that roar," he said, looking at me. "Why don't you greet him?"

"Uh, hello," I said reluctantly.

"Ahhh..." the man said, smiling. He then entered the house.

"He cannot talk properly because his tongue is handicapped," Randy's father said. "But he's very nice and helpful, and he loves kids."

"That's pretty sad," I said.

"Ah, I have to go now," he said, looking at his watch.

"Be careful on your way," I said.

"You too, and don't hesitate to visit us again," he said, and then he left waving his hand.

"Now, where next?" I said to myself. Then I remembered the antique store in the nearby dark alley. I tried going there and explored the dark alley, but no matter how hard I looked I couldn't find the antique store. However, I occasionally felt that someone or something was watching me during my exploration. I couldn't find the watcher either, so I gave up and left the dark alley. I then couldn't decide where to go next. Orgel House was not in walking distance, so it was not an option. I had been able to go there in my first visit because the Hippopotamus Truck had given me a ride, but the truck was not with me this time.

"Maybe I should try the park," I said. "Maybe Almond is there as well."

I then walked to the park. While walking, I kept wondering about Sarah and Papa Rat, who had lived with the deceased old lady. What had happened to them? Had they moved somewhere else? Or were they still living in the house secretly? I was still thinking about it too much by the time I arrived at the park that I didn't notice a bicycle coming.

"Watch out!" I heard a voice of a girl. I looked and saw a teenage girl speeding with her bicycle towards me. She almost hit me with her bicycle, but she narrowly evaded. However, as the result she hit an iron fence and got thrown off from her bicycle. To my surprise, she sommersaulted and landed on her feet.

"I'm sorry! Are you alright?" I asked, running to her.

"Don't worry. I'm just fine. I'm the one who should say sorry," she said, retrieving her bicycle. "I'm looking for my missing cousin so I wasn't paying attention."

"Hey, we're pretty much the same!" I said. "I'm looking for my missing friend."

"Huh? Hmm..." she said, thinking. "Are you... David?"

"How did you know?" I asked. "So I guess we're looking for the same person."

"I just visited his house and I heard about what happened from his mother," she said. "Yes, we're looking for the same kid. I'm Catherine, his cousin."

"Do you know where he might be headed?" I asked.

"I'm not really sure. He has a lot of places to go," she said. "This park is one, but I couldn't find him here."

"I looked for him near the formerly haunted house, but he's not there either," I said.

"I see..." she said. "Where could he had gone?"

"Maybe Orgel House? But the distance is quite far, so maybe not?" I said.

"He might have taken a bus ride," she said. "In here buses are free of charge for children under 10."

"Is that so? Then maybe that place is worth a visit," I said. "But I'm already over that age."

"I'll give you a ride!" she said, getting on her bicycle. "Come!"

"Thanks!" I said, then I sat behind her on her bicycle. The ride to the Orgel House didn't take too long and I got to enjoy a good sea scenery while on the way. When we arrived, I saw that Orgel House had not changed at all, still the same building on the sea side. After Catherine parked her bicycle, both of us entered through the main door and started searching. However, the search was no success.

"Looks like he's not here," I said while both of us were walking at the hallway.

"Let's take a short rest," Catherine said. "I'm kinda tired after the ride. You're quite heavy, you know."

"Good idea. I haven't been here after all, so might as well take a tour," I said.

"Huh? But you knew this place," she said, wondering.

"I once came here, but I went straight to the balcony through the side walkway. I've never seen the inside of the building," I said.

"Then you should come here," she said, directly walking to a door. "Inside this room is one of the many Greenhill miracles."

We entered the room and found the musician of the house in there, playing his large bass violin while the old-looking organ-like instrument next to him was playing a matching song by itself. Right above the instrument there were a number of musician miniatures which also played a song by themselves. I recognized the miniatures as the same ones I had seen in the antique store.

"See? The musician only played his bass. The rest played by themselves!" Catherine said in excitement, just as the music ended.

"The instrument is a machine, so no wonder," I said. "But the miniatures are sure wonders."

"Unfortunately, they are beginning to end..." the musician said.

"End? What do you mean?" Catherine asked.

"Lately, they don't want to play anymore. I often had to play only with the instrument, and it doesn't sound happy when that happens" he said, looking at the instrument and the miniatures above it.

"How come?" she asked.

"It seems people no longer believe in miracles," he replied with a sigh. "And that is very unfortunate."

"But they just played," I said.

"They seem to play only in the presence of someone who truly believes in miracles," he said. "I believe, but truth to be told, I'm not fully certain."

"I think I believe, but maybe not? I'm not sure either," Catherine said. Then she and the musician looked at me.

"Huh? Me?" I said. "Yes, I believe in miracles. But I didn't think I would qualify for them."

After saying those, I began to think that the term might be, in other words, people who could see ChaCha and his friends. But as far as I knew, the only one who could besides me and the Strawberryland kids was Randy himself. Could it be that Randy was actually there, or it was true that I qualified for the miniatures? While I was still thinking, suddenly the door opened and someone entered. It was a guy in his early-mid twenties. He had black hair and wore glasses with thick frame. His shirt, pants, and shoes were all black, and he wore a chain necklace with a metal scorpion figure on it.

"Oh, hi Uncle!" Catherine greeted him.

"Hey, Catherine. How're you doing?" the guy replied with a smile.

"I'm just fine," Catherine replied. "David, this is my friend. His real name is not Uncle, but we call him Uncle."

"Hi," I said. It didn't take long until we then told Uncle about what was happening and the fact that we were looking for Randy.

"I see. I'll help too," Uncle said.

"Thank you!" Catherine said.

"You can ride in my car," Uncle said, looking at me.

"Thanks," I said.

"Huh? What about me?" Catherine asked.

"If you want to leave your bike here, go ahead and join us" Uncle said.

"Oh yeah I forgot!" Catherine said and we laughed a bit. Soon, we left the place after giving proper farewell to the musician. In the parking area, I saw that Uncle's car was a black sports car which looked a bit old, but also very well maintained. It seemed to be able to run much faster than Leopard.

"Well, get in," Uncle said, unlocking the doors.

"Okay," I said, getting in. We then left the parking area after waving hand with Catherine.

"It's a very nice car," I said, trying to open a conversation.

"It's old, though," he replied while still driving.

"Why are you called Uncle?" I asked.

"Because I want to," he replied. "And why are you called David... Blackberry Bun?"

"Huh?" I said. His last sentence really surprised me. "I... I mean..."

"Relax," he said with a giggle. "Randy is my best friend. He told me a lot of things about you."

"Things about me? Everything? And you believe?" I asked.

"Yeah, everything, and I believe," he said. "If you ask why, it's because I'm pretty much the same as him."

"The same as him?" I asked.

"This car..." he said. "...was my late brother."

"Eh?" I said, surprised again.

"It's a long story, and I don't feel like telling it," he said.

"Alright," I said. "But you said 'was'? Does that mean...?"

"Yeah, his soul has become one with the stars now," he said. "It happened two years ago."

"How come?" I asked.

"I have no idea," he said. "It seemed that on that day, all souls possessing inanimate objects returned to the stars without warning."

"How did you know that he really returned there?" I asked.

"I had a dream of him telling me that it was time for him to go back to the stars," he replied. "The dream felt so real, so I knew that it was true."

"Wait! You said 'all'? Does that mean... ChaCha too?" I asked. Uncle weakly nodded.

"Poor Randy. He was so shocked," he said.

"Yeah, losing his best friend like that..." I said.

"There's something more about that, though," he said.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Actually, Randy was starting to forget about ChaCha at that time," he said, which surprised me.

"Why?" I asked.

"He grew up like any other kid, and eventually ChaCha became too small for him to ride. So he started playing outside without bringing ChaCha, and little by little ChaCha became forgotten," he said.

"That's pretty sad," I said.

"Indeed," he said. "But like people said, 'You don't know what you've got until it's gone.'"

"By the way, where are we going now?" I asked.

"Like I said, I'll help looking for him," he said. "As you can see, it's almost sunset. He probably has returned home already, so let's look there first."

"You're probably right," I said. "And I promised my brother to return there by sunset."

"Oh, you have a brother?" he asked.

"Yes, and I love him very much," I said.

"Take a good care of him. Don't repeat my mistake..." he said. "Ah, never mind. I believe you won't."

So, we went back to Randy's house hoping that he had really returned home. When we arrived, I saw Almond already there standing around and waiting. My search for Randy was pretty much a failure, and I hoped Almond had been luckier than me.

-To Be Continued-

Referenced episode: None  
Crossover with Daisuki BuBu ChaCha anime


	17. Chapter 11 Almond's Path

Chapter 11: Almond's Path

"Let's get going!" Mary said after Blackberry left her and Almond.

"You lead the way," Almond said.

"First stop, the park!" she said, and the two started walking.

"So, you have been Randy's friend for a long time?" he asked while still walking.

"Yep!" she replied. "We were born on the same day at the same hospital, and our beds were next to each other! So we pretty much have been friends since birth!"

"That's cool!" he said.

"You think so? It sure is!" she said.

"But from what you said you seem to like making fun of him," he said.

"Ha! It's just that he was so cute, simple, and sincere that I couldn't resist doing it! But I never did anything bad to him," she said. "Not too bad at least... I think."

"Do you think we can find him in the park?" he asked.

"Not the park, but the special place in the park," she said.

"Special place?" he asked

"Just wait and see," she said.

Not too long afterwards, they passed a house where there were two boys sitting on the terrace. One of them was rather fat while the other was thinner and shorter. When Almond and Mary passed them, the boys looked at them and stood up. Then they approached and Mary sighed.

"Here we go again," she said.

"What?" Almond asked.

"Hey hey do you see what I see?" the fatter boy said.

"Yes yes I see what you see," the other boy said.

"It's Mary the witch, and she has bewitched a slave," the fatter boy said.

"Ohh she has bewitched a slave for herself!" the other boy said.

"Yes, a slave for herself!" both boys said at the same time. Almond could only watch in confusion.

"Cut it out, you two!" Mary shouted. "Hearing you two rapping about everything gives me headaches!"

"Well well if you say so," the fatter boy said.

"We'll cut it out, yes we'll cut it out," the other boy said.

"Because Mary is boss," both boys said at the same time.

"Alby, these two useless boys are Nick and Terry. They're also called The Rap Brothers because of what you just saw," Mary said.

"Hey, we're not useless," The fatter boy said. "Anyway, I'm Nick."

"And I'm Terry," The other boy said.

"Nick and Terry, this is Alby. If you remember Randy telling about his faraway friend David, Alby is his brother," Mary said.

"You two really confused me back there," Almond said. "Do you always do that?"

"We used to always do that," Nick said.

"But we got kinda tired, so now not always," Terry said. "Anyway, where are you going?"

"We're looking for Randy. He looked troubled for some reason I don't know," Almond said. "My brother is also looking for him now."

"Troubled?" Nick said, then he looked at his brother who did the same to him.

"If he looks troubled maybe he's there again, right bro?" Terry said, and Nick nodded.

"Sure thing," Nick said.

"There? Again?" Almond asked.

"Yes indeed, he's there again," Nick said, starting to rap again.

"The one place where he always goes to," Terry said, also rapping.

"Whenever he looks troubled," they said at the same time.

"That's where I'm taking him to," Mary said. "The Secret Place."

"Let's go together then!" Nick said. "We're kinda bored right now actually."

"Your call," Mary said. "Let's hurry on."

The group then went to the Greenhill Park. When they arrived, clueless Almond could only follow the other kids walking through the forest part of the park.

"Can't believe that a forest exists in a city," Almond said.

"Hey, almost all cities must have a park like this somewhere, don't you know that?" Mary said.

"No," Almond said.

"Now I really can't imagine the place where you come from," Mary said. "Anyway, I bet you don't know that a crocodile lived in this park."

"Really? wasn't that dangerous?" Almond asked.

"Of course it was! That's why people moved it to the zoo when they found it!" Mary said. "Oh, here we are! The Secret Place!"

Almond looked at the thing they said as The Secret Place. It was a simple wooden triangular tree house with a ladder leaning on its front for people to access.

"So this is the place, huh?" Almond said, climbing the ladder with the other kids following. The inside of the tree house looked more like a storage room than a house. Various things were all over the place, and all of them had collected some dust. Almond looked around and he didn't find Randy there, but one thing caught his attention because it was much cleaner than everything else. It was a large yellow toy car which little kids could ride on. On the seats of the car lied three smaller things. A toy robot, a small green toy car, and an even smaller toy police car.

"That's what that kid used to call as 'ChaCha'," Mary said.

"ChaCha?" Almond asked. "This toy car?"

"Yeah," she said. "He had a dog named ChaCha, whom he loved very dearly. However, about six years ago, ChaCha died protecting him from a car crash."

"That is a sad story," Nick said.

"Yeah, a really sad story it is," Terry said.

"You two! Could you do me a favor and don't rap in your speech?!" Mary shouted. "Just for today... Please?"

The two brothers were speechless, looking surprised.

"Did you hear that, bro?" Nick said.

"I heard that loud and clear," Terry said.

"Mary said 'please'!" both said at the same time.

"Alright, just for today as you wish," Nick said, and Terry nodded.

"Thank you," Mary said and Almond sat on a chair next to the toy car. "Moving on, ever since then, that kid started calling that toy car ChaCha. He kept telling me that the toy car was ChaCha, but I didn't believe him."

"We neither, but he was such a nice friend that we decided to play along," Nick said. "Sorta."

"In other words, he played make believe with this toy car?" Almond asked and everyone else nodded. "Either that, or the soul of the dog possessed this toy car."

"Wait a second! What did you just say?" Mary asked.

"Uh, maybe the soul of the dog possessed the toy car?" Almond replied.

"You actually believe in such thing?" Mary asked, looking upset.

"Why shouldn't I?" Almond asked back.

"Because there is no such thing as ghost!" Mary said.

"Are you sure?" Nick asked. "Don't you remember the ghost in the haunted house?"

"Nobody has ever seen it for real, and now the house no longer looks haunted!" Mary said.

"Alright, let's just end the arguing and move on," Almond said. "So, why is this car left here now?"

"That's because..." Mary said before an interruption came.

"Mary!" a voice shouted, and all of us looked at the source. It was Randy himself.

"Uhh..." Mary said, looking timid. "Hi, Randy."

"How much have you told him?" Randy asked, looking angry.

"Um, not much?" Mary replied, still looking timid.

"Just leave now," Randy said with a sigh. Mary and the two brothers left the place immediately without question, but Almond sat still on the chair. "Why are you still here?"

"Let's go back home. Your mother is worried about you," Almond said.

"You lied," Randy said. "It's still too early for Mom to be worried about me."

"Alright, we are worried about you," Almond said.

"Why should you?" Randy said cynically. "Now, please go away."

"Randy, I have never met you before, but why you hate me and my brother?" Almond asked.

"No, I don't hate you..." Randy said. "I just... don't want you to be here."

"Why?" Almond asked.

"Please don't ask," Randy said. "Please... just leave me alone..."

Seeing Randy's sad face, Almond decided to leave him alone although reluctantly. After he climbed down the ladder, he hid himself behind a nearby bush to keep watching. He couldn't see what was happening inside the tree house, but the front of the house was in clear sight so he would notice if Randy left the place. While watching, Almond wanted to contact Blackberry telepathically to inform him that Randy had been found, but he was aware that it would not work.

"It's useless. Without the planet's soul I don't even know where brother is," Almond said to himself. Then, suddenly he heard a voice.

"Hey, you're watching too?" the voice asked. Almond looked behind and saw that it was Nick. Mary and his brother was there with him too.

"Yeah, I'm kinda worried about him," Almond said.

"You can say the same for us," Mary said. "I've made him upset several times with pranks, but that was the first time he looked angry and... sorta scary."

"By the way, you haven't answered my question because he interrupted," Almond said to Mary.

"Oh, alright," Mary said. "I actually have nearly no idea. He just said that he wanted to dump his old toys."

"That's it?" Almond asked.

"Yeah, that's it," Mary said. "And that honestly sounded very, very, very strange to me! I mean, he has been telling everyone that they were his best friends, and then one day he suddenly dumped all of them here?!"

"Exactly!" Terry said.

"Hmm, I think so. Even though it only meant his make believe was over, he could have just keep the toys at his home," Almond said. "By the way..."

"What?" Nick asked.

"We have been talking and nobody is watching the tree house?" Almond asked. Everybody were surprised, realizing their mistake. Almond quickly went to the tree house and climbed the ladder. Seconds later, he came out shaking his head and sighing.

"The worst timing possible," Mary said with a sigh. Nick and Terry also sighed.

"Let's just go home then," Nick said.

"Yeah, it's useless staying here now," Terry said, and the three of them left the place after waving hands to Almond.

From the color of the sky, Almond knew that sunset was very near, so he decided to go back to Randy's house to meet Blackberry there as they had promised. Nothing happened on the trip, and when he arrived he knew that he was in time because Blackberry was not there yet. A few minutes later, Almond saw a black car coming near. The car then parked right in front of him, and soon two people came out from it. Almond was a bit surprised that one of them was Blackberry.

"Hey, bro," Almond said.

"I pretty much failed," Blackberry said. "Were you luckier than me?"

"Yes and no," Almond said, which confused his brother.

-To be Continued-

Referenced episode: None  
Crossover with Daisuki BuBu ChaCha Anime


	18. Chapter 11 End

Chapter 11 Final Part: Souls in The Stars

"Hey, bro," Almond said when I got out from Uncle's car.

"I pretty much failed," I said. "Were you luckier than me?"

"Yes and no," he replied.

"Huh? What do you mean?" I asked.

"I found him, but because of a few things I lost him again," he said.

"Really? Where did you find him?" I asked.

"A tree house in the park," he said.

"A tree house in the park..." Uncle said. "The Secret Place?"

"How did you know?" Almond asked. "And who are you?"

"Alright, let me introduce you," I said. "Almond, this is Uncle, one of Randy's closest friends. I met him on my search and he agreed to help. Uncle, this is my brother Almond Cookie."

"Hey! My name is..." Almond said before I interrupted.

"He already knows everything from Randy. It's fine," I said.

"If you found him there, then I believe you found ChaCha as well," Uncle said. "What remains of him anyway."

"The yellow toy car?" Almond asked, and Uncle nodded. "Though I'm kinda confused now."

"I haven't told you about things here because I wanted it to become a surprise," I said. "Randy had a number of magical friends. They are souls of deceased animals possessing inanimate objects."

"I see," Almond said. "Come to think of it, I remember that there were a few things put in the car. A small green toy car, a toy robot, and an even smaller toy police car."

"I don't know the other two, but the police car is probably Papa Rat," I said.

"The green car is Pyoko, and the robot is Bull," Uncle said. "After their soul was gone, Randy gathered their bodies in that tree house. Unfortunately, four of them were just impossible to bring."

"The hippopotamus truck, Cindy the elephant excavator, the leopard sports car, and...?" I asked.

"The whale cargo plane," Uncle said. "The truck and the sports car were left in the plains not far from Greenhill, and the excavator is still used by people."

"How about the plane?" I asked.

"No idea," Uncle said. "There weren't any news about plane crash or such, so it probably fell down to the ocean and sunk. Nobody knows where it is now."

"That's sad," I said. "By the way, we have been talking for a while but Randy hasn't come back yet."

"Do you think it's because we're here standing in front of his house?" Almond asked.

"Maybe..." I said, then I noticed a familiar red car coming and parking right behind Uncle's car. Soon, Randy's father came out from it.

"Hi, what are you all doing here?" he asked.

"We are waiting for Randy to come home," I said.

"Why are you standing here outside? Come in and have a seat inside!" he kindly offered, and we accepted. All four of us then entered the house and sat in the main room. We all talked together for a while, but Randy didn't return home even after the sky had become completely dark.

"I honestly am starting to worry," I said.

"Me too," Almond said.

"I feel the same," Randy's father said.

"Let's go look for him," Uncle suggested, and everyone else agreed. Soon, all of us went out to look for Randy again. Randy's mother stayed at home in case Randy returned when we were out looking for him. I went with Almond to The Secret Place, but we didn't find Randy there. We then continued looking for him in the park, but it was of no success.

"I really wish your scanner worked right now," I said.

"Me too, Bro," Almond said. "But like I said, this planet has no soul. It won't work."

"Yeah..." I said, looking at the stars above. "Wait a minute! I think it can work!"

"Huh?" Almond asked in confusion.

Meanwhile, on a plain barely within walking distance, Randy was sitting alone on the top of a small slope. He kept looking upwards to the starry sky, musing and not knowing what to do. He was aware that his mother and father were probably worried about him, but he didn't want to meet the two visitors again. He would rather be scolded by his parents later than seeing them again and had his heart broken. He had decided to stay there until morning.

"Hey there," suddenly he heard a familiar voice from behind. Without looking, he knew that it was me, and Almond was with me.

"What are you doing here?" Almond asked, but Randy didn't show any response.

"May I sit here?" I asked, standing next to him at his right side.

"Whatever," he said, and I sat down. Almond immediately followed by sitting at Randy's other side.

"Nice view, eh?" I said, looking at the stars above.

"Makes you want go there," Almond said.

"You can't," Randy said.

"Why not?" Almond asked. "You won't know if you don't try."

"Well then how? We don't have a rocket or spaceship here!" Randy said, looking at Almond. I silently chuckled a bit, knowing that actually there was a spaceship right there.

"I didn't mean about going there literally," Almond said with a little laugh.

"If you mean telescope or book, I already know," Randy said, still looking upset.

"I think you should tell us why you don't want us to be here," I said.

"Why should I?" he said. "You don't exist anyway!"

"Eh? What do you mean?" I asked. "We're right here."

"No! You don't exist!" Randy shouted, closing his eyes and hugging his legs tight.

"Then you should just say it loud to the stars," Almond said.

"Huh?" Randy asked, seeming confused.

"We don't exist, so you're now alone. The stars are good listeners when you want to say something," Almond said.

"I don't want to say anything," Randy said.

"It's not good to keep it to yourself for long. You'll feel pain in your chest," I said. "Believe me, I have experienced it myself."

"No! I don't believe!" Randy shouted, quickly standing up. "I don't believe in you! I don't believe in Cindy! I don't believe in Leopard! I don't believe in Hippo Truck! I don't believe in Bull, Pyoko, and Papa Rat! I don't believe in ChaCha!"

"Eh? What are you saying?" I asked.

"I don't believe in miracles! All my friends were not and were never real! They were just my imagination!" Randy shouted with tears leaking from his eyes. "I keep telling myself in front of those toys that they were not real! I don't need to feel sad for them!"

"So that's what you do in The Secret Place?" Almond asked.

"Yes, but why should you care?!" Randy replied. "You both are from imaginary world! You're just my imagination! Please, make it stop!"

"Randy..." I said, looking at Randy, who sat down again hugging his legs and sobbing.

"Please... make it stop... Make me forget... Please..." Randy said, still sobbing. From what we had heard we could understand that Randy had been suppressing his deep sadness of losing ChaCha and his other friends by telling himself that they had not been real, hoping that he would forget them all. His hate upon us was because our presence reminded him of his lost friends, and it broke his heart.

"No, you shouldn't forget," Almond said. "You have a room in your heart for them, right? Leave the room as it is. Don't lock it off and forget, because after they were gone they can only live in others' memory."

"I don't get what you said, and I don't want to care," Randy said, still in sad tone. "People said that Greenhill is a city of miracles. If it is true, then why the miracle didn't keep them to stay with me?! I lost my best friends! They're gone! I don't believe in miracles anymore!"

"No, they're not gone," Almond said. "They are still there," he continued, pointing at Randy's chest. "In your heart."

"I know! Mom and Dad have told me that! But it's pointless if I can't talk to them and play with them!" Randy said. There was a silence for a moment because neither of us knew what to say.

"Randy, hold my hand," Almond said, with his right hand offered to Randy.

"Huh? For what?" Randy asked.

"Just do it. Please," Almond said. Randy reluctantly complied without saying any words. Almond then held his forehead with his other hand and concentrated. From seeing what he was doing, I could immediately guess that he was going to communicate with the souls of Randy's lost friends, just like how he had done it to locate Randy. This planet indeed didn't have a soul, but there were the souls of Randy's friends among the stars above. With his ability to telepathically communicate with souls, Almond had been able to ask them for Randy's location.

Soon enough, I could see Randy's face looking surprised. I couldn't hear what he heard, but I could safely assume he heard the voice of his lost friends. He was so surprised that he couldn't say anything. Tears then started to leak from his eyes, but he smiled. The communication lasted for quite a while, and in the end he fell asleep on Almond's shoulder. Almond smiled looking at Randy, then he looked to the sky while still holding his forehead.

"Thank you," Almond said, and for a moment the stars twinkled brighter than before.

"Is it over?" I asked with low voice, and Almond nodded.

"He sure has good friends," he said. "And now I know his real reason."

"Huh? What is it?" I asked.

"He actually could accept them being gone, but he wanted to at least say proper farewell before that happened," he replied. "Too bad it happened so suddenly without any warning."

"So that's what has been burdening him for years," I said, and Almond nodded.

"He also couldn't forgive himself for starting to forget about them back then. All he said about desiring to forget them was just a cover to suppress his sadness. In truth, he would never forget them, ever," he said.

"I guess it's time to bring him home," I said.

"Yeah, we cannot keep his parents worried for too long," Almond said. He then carried Randy on his back and we walked back home. Later when we arrived, his mother was waiting anxiously at the front door. When she saw us, she was surprised and immediately came running.

"Is Randy alright? What happened?" she asked.

"He's just asleep. We better put him on his bed now," Almond replied. She agreed and then all of us entered the house. Almond followed Randy's mother to the bedroom and then he put Randy on the bed. After that, the three of us went to the living room. Randy's mother immediately used the phone there to call the others and tell that Randy has been found and returned. Within minutes, Randy's father and Uncle came back to the house and all of us sat in the living room.

"Where did you find him?" Uncle asked.

"The plains not too far from here," I said. "He was looking at the stars."

"Ah yes, I completely forgot that it is his favorite place when the sky is clear at night," the father said.

"How did you know that place?" Uncle asked.

"We were just lucky," I said, thinking that it would be better not to reveal that Almond could telepathically communicate with the souls.

"Please don't scold him tomorrow when he wakes up," Almond said. "It's our fault that he went off like that."

"No, don't blame yourselves," the father said. "And don't worry about that."

"Thank you," I said. "I guess it's time to go home."

"It's already late," the mother said. "Why don't you spend the night here?"

"Don't worry. This time we got good transport," I said.

"Good transport?" the father asked.

"Oh, you mean that?" Uncle said. "But you put it pretty far from here. I'll take you there with my car."

After saying that, Uncle gave us a wink, which we immediately understood.

"Thank you," I said. Soon, all of us went outside. Almond and I entered Uncle's car, and with handwaves from us we left Randy's house.

"Can't have them see you opening the portal to your world, right?" Uncle said while driving.

"Yeah. Thank you," I said. "I couldn't think of a good excuse."

"No problem," he said. "By the way, take me to your world some time. I'm curious about many things there."

"We will, when we come back someday," I said.

Soon, the car stopped right outside the city and the three of us got off from the car.

"Be careful on your way," Uncle said.

"You too," I said, taking the Time Remote II from my pocket.

"Goodbye," he said as I opened the dimension door to Strawberryland.

"See you next time," Almond said, and both of us entered the dimension door. We ended up right in the living room of my house, and the dimension door vanished immediately.

"So, how was it? I mean, our trip to Greenhill," I asked.

"If you ask me, it was actually great," Almond replied. "But there were too many sad things."

"Indeed," I said. "But I believe everything will turn up okay."

"We have the same thinking," he said, and I yawned.

"It's bed time. I'm going to sleep," I said.

"Good night, bro," he said, sitting down on the sofa.

"Happy watching life," I said, going into my bedroom.

-End of Chapter 11-

Referenced episode: None  
Crossover with Daisuki BuBu ChaCha anime


	19. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Brotherly Love

About one week after the trip to Greenhill, I woke up in the morning like usual, changed my pajamas into my daily outfit, and went out from the bedroom. Like any days before, I expected to see Almond sitting on the sofa in the living room, doing his usual life-watching. However, this morning I was quite surprised to see Almond wearing new outfit. His top was a combination of unbuttoned brown plaid shirt and lighter brown short sleeve T-Shirt, and his knee shorts had been changed into full pants. He also wore a necklace with black chain and golden head which I couldn't recognize at first, but upon closer looking I noticed that the shape of the head was like Albatross.

"Good morning!" he greeted.

"Alright, that's surprising. Where did you get that?" I asked.

"Oh, this?" he said, looking at his new outfit. "Last night I chatted with him instead of watching life. In the end he offered to change my clothes."

"And I see you accepted," I said.

"Yeah! Even though he warned me that the change would be random like when he morphed me, but I kinda like the excitement of it!" he said happily.

"So, do you like the new outfit?" I asked.

"Definitely! See? Now I wear pants!" he said in high excitement.

"Well, I do think you now look much nicer than before," I said. "But why the overexcitement about pants?"

"Well, it's just that I have been feeling awkward being the only one wearing shorts while the others wear pants," he said.

"I don't think you should have been feeling like that. I mean, look at Peach Streusel," I said.

"Don't compare me with a girl!" he said with a laugh.

"And the necklace looks nice too," I said.

"Ah, this is actually the only rather bad part of the change," he said.

"Really? Why is that?" I asked.

"The Sun Stone was used to be inside my body," he said. "But now this necklace is the Sun Stone."

"What? Then what will happen if the necklace is removed?" I asked.

"I actually tried it before you woke up," he replied. "I won't be able to morph into Albatross, and I will lose my infinite stamina. In fact, at worst condition I won't even able to stand up without this necklace."

"That sounds dangerous!" I said. "Can you ask him to change back?"

"No! I like these new clothes! I don't want to wear those strange clothes again!" he refused.

"Those clothes were not strange, and nobody really cares about your looks anyway!" I said. "But everybody cares about each other's safety, including yours!"

"I'm not listening!" he said, shutting both his ears with his hands. I only could sigh.

"Fine, but promise me that you'll be careful," I said.

"Yay!" he shouted happily. "Yes, I promise!"

"Alright, let me have some breakfast and then we can go," I said. "Or you can go there first if you like."

"Nah, take your time," he said. Soon enough, both of us departed from my house to the place of the event taking place in Strawberryland. The event was a career fair, where there were a lot of stands, each representing a certain job. When we arrived, we saw that some of our other friends were already there, and they were also excited about the event.

"Hey there, everyone," I said as we approached the group.

"Hi, Blackberry! Hi, Almond!" Strawberry greeted back. "Wow, you look berry nice, Almond!"

"Do you think so? I really like my new clothes myself," Almond said. "Anyway, let's have a look around!"

"Yeah! You're right! Let's go!" Orange said. "Oh, and I like your new clothes, too."

"Right behind you!" Ginger said. "And me too! Yep, I sure do!"

So, all of us went off to look for a booth which interested us the most. I myself didn't find anything interesting, so I just walked around greeting other friends I met. Some time after, I met Almond and the usual group near a small bridge.

"I never realized how many different careers there were!" Orange said.

"I can't wait till I'm older and actually have a job!" Angel said.

"Well, why should we wait?" Strawberry said.

"What are you talking about, Strawberry?" Peppermint asked.

"We could pretend we have the jobs!" Strawberry said. "For a few days we can be anything we want!"

"That sounds like fun!" Almond said.

"A lot of fun!" Orange said.

"Alright! Let's do it!" Ginger said in excitement.

"It'll be great! You'll see, we'll be everything we wanted to be!" Strawberry said, and then the group started singing a song about the thing they wanna be. Both me and Almond only watched because none of us could sing.

"I know what I wanna be!" Ginger said after the song was finished. "I wanna be a firefighter!"

"I want to be a doctor!" Orange said.

"I think I'll open a restaurant!" Angel said.

"And I would love to be a teacher!" Strawberry said.

"What about you, Peppermint?" Angel asked. "What are you going to be?"

"Well," Peppermint said, thinking. "The mayor of all Strawberryland! The boss of everything! That'll be me!"

Peppermint's line surprised everyone.

"Can she, be that, Strawberry?" Angel whispered to Strawberry.

"Well sure! Why not?" Strawberry said.

"Yes!" Peppermint said in excitement.

"How about you two, Blackberry and Almond?" Strawberry asked.

"I actually have no idea, so I'll just be myself. An inventor," I said.

"As for me, I know what I want to be!" Almond said.

"What is it?" Angel asked.

"Hunter!" Almond replied, and everyone was surprised again.

"You mean, the one who hunt animals?" Orange asked, and Almond nodded without hesitation.

"Isn't it... kinda bad?" Ginger said. "I've never thought of harming animals in Strawberryland! Nope! Never!"

"Hey, I've never said about harming the animals!" Almond said.

"But you said that you would be a hunter," Angel said.

"Yes, a hunter, with a camera! I'm going to take pictures of animals deep in the jungle of Strawberryland!" Almond said, and everyone was relieved.

At the next day, Almond was ready for his hunt with my camera he borrowed from me hanging around his neck. He was very excited about what he was going to do. I also had a special drinking bottle I made myself hanged around my shoulder and a regular backpack on my back.

"Wait a second! You're going too?" he asked.

"Yeah," I replied.

"Aren't you an inventor? So, shouldn't you be right here, you know, inventing?" he asked.

"I need ideas first, and I usually get one if I go out," I said.

"Oh yeah?" he said with suspicious face. "Even without reading your mind I can tell that you're lying."

"I can't lie to you, can I?" I said after sighing. "Alright, I'm worried about you so I'm going with you."

"I'm not a helpless little kid," he said. "And I'm thousands of centuries older than you."

"But now you can easily become one," I said. "And as human you're not even a month old."

"Heh, alright, fine, you can come," he said.

"I'd come anyway, no matter what you said," I said.

So, the two of us went off to hunt for pictures of animals living in Strawberryland. Though actually Almond did all the hunting while I just followed him and watched over him. I just couldn't shake off the fact that Almond could get into danger much more easily this time because his Sun Stone was then much easier to remove than before. Just a bit of bad luck or careless move and he would be in grave danger.

"Brother, I appreciate that you're concerned about me but..." Almond said while aiming the camera towards a chirping bird above.

"But what?" I asked as he took a picture.

"I'm probably the one concerned, about you," he said, looking at me and sighing. I looked really messed up. My clothes were all covered in burrs, and I was wet from my own sweat. Not to mention that I was extremely exhausted from all the hours of walking.

"Nah... Just ignore me and continue hunting..." I said while panting heavily. "I'll keep following."

"Your condition says otherwise," he said. "Though I find it strange that this morphed Sun Stone doesn't work for other people anymore."

"It was meant for you anyway," I said, still panting.

"At this rate you won't be able to continue much further," he said. "Let's sit down under this tree and take a break. I insist."

"Can't deny you," I said, and both of us sat down under the nearby tree. I sighed in relief as I sat down, and then I drank a lot from my bottle.

"That bottle looks interesting. Where did you get that? How does it work?" Almond asked.

"I made it," I said. "It's actually simple. Put tea leaves inside this removable filter here, and then every time I put water into this bottle it will become tea."

"That's cool," he said. "So you have more water for this in the backpack?"

"Yeah, and also my namesake," I said. "But I've eaten and drunk them all during the trip here, so it's totally empty now."

"And you've just drunk the last drop of your bottle," he said.

"Yeah," I said, pouring the last drops into my mouth. Suddenly, the filter lid came off and all wet tea leaves fell to the ground.

"Don't worry. The leaves will become natural fertilizer over time," he said. "Where did you get them, by the way?"

"A few days ago Peppermint came and gave these to me when you were away playing," I replied. "She wanted me to try her favorite drink. It sure tastes good."

"Let me try it some time," he said, and then suddenly both of us felt a tremor.

"What was that? An earthquake?" I asked after the tremor stopped.

"I don't know," he said as the tremor started again. "But I do know that we better get out of here now."

After saying the line, Almond immediately transformed into Albatross, sucked me into his cockpit, and flew away from the place. None of us knew that a swarm of beetles came out right from the ground where the peppermint tea leaves had fallen. They ate the leaves and also every single plant around, and then they marched towards Strawberryland while still eating any plants they came across.

Meanwhile, the two of us arrived home safely, not knowing about the marching swarm. I was still very exhausted, so before reverting to human form, Almond brought me into my house with his gravity field and put me sitting on the sofa. I then put down my backpack and drinking bottle on the floor and immediately fell half-asleep on the sofa. Almond came in soon after, already in his human form.

"You will catch a cold if you sleep there with your clothes still wet from your sweat," he said.

"Don't worry," I said weakly, and then I fell fully asleep.

"Heh..." he said with a sigh. He then went into my bedroom and came back bringing a blanket, which he then used to cover me. After doing that, he suddenly got a bad feeling about something outside and then he left the house immediately. I didn't know what happened, but he then returned and woke me up.

"Brother! Wake up! Something bad is happening!" he shouted, shaking my body.

"Huh? What happened?" I asked in surprise with my eyelids still felt heavy.

"Quick! Come here!" he said, dragging me to the window of the house. Outside the window I saw a horrible sight. There was a large purple cloud-like thing crawling around Strawberryland, eating any plants they came across. I then took my binoculars from a nearby table and used it to see what the cloud actually was.

"A swarm of beetles?" I said while looking through the binoculars. "Could they be... Berry beetles?"

"Berry beetles? What are they?" he asked.

"I only have read about them," I said. "They eat almost anything they come across. They're not supposed to be here at all! They should be in an island where every single plant magically grows within minutes!"

"Well, they are here in Strawberryland now, and they're heading right here," he said. "Alright, then."

"Where are you going?" I asked as he ran to the entrance.

"To protect our home!" he replied, jumping out. I hurried to follow him, and right outside I saw him standing towards the incoming swarm. His necklace then started to glow brightly, and so did his hands which let out red glow. I then immediately realized what he was going to do.

"No! Don't use the Flame Stones!" I shouted, but it was too late. Almond unleashed a stream of fire from both his hands, which immediately started to show burn damage. It was clear from his face that he was in pain, but he kept streaming fire from his hands against the incoming swarm. The beetles seemed to realize that danger was near, and then they immediately escaped by burrowing to the ground before any of them got burned. Almond then stopped his flame throwing, then he fell down kneeling on the ground and panting. His hands from finger to elbow showed severe burn damage.

"Heh... Now they're gone..." he said, still panting heavily. The burn damage began to heal, but the healing rate was very slow.

"Almond! Are you alright?" I asked, running to him. "Why are your hands not healing fast?"

"It seems the magical power from the Flame Stones is a bit too strong for my regeneration to handle," he said, looking at his hands. "Don't worry, they'll heal in about... tonight."

"Thank you, Almond," I said. "But please, no more doing anything like that. You had me worried sick."

"If you say so," he replied, and then we went home. Later, I walked around Strawberryland bringing Nature's Blessing to restore all plants the beetles had eaten.

At the next day, Almond went hunting again. He had fully healed his hands like he had said, but I was still worried about him so I followed him again. This time, I had prepared a way not to get exhausted like the day before.

"Brother, I appreciate that you're concerned about me but..." Almond said while carefully and silently aiming the camera towards a raccoon at a distance.

"But what?" I asked as the raccoon noticed something and escaped from sight.

"Following me by riding Arrowhead makes a lot of noise and scares the animals," Almond said with a sigh. Like he had said, I was riding Arrowhead, which I had modified to be able to run on any solid surface.

"Uh... Sorry," I said.

"Let's just sit down there and relax," he said, pointing towards a large tree. We then sat down under the tree and relaxed for a while.

"So, how your job as a hunter has been so far?" I asked.

"It was fine, except the continuous disturbing from one paranoid guy," he replied, then he smirked to me. "And how about your job as... inventor?"

"Very good. Yesterday I made that filter bottle, and today I made a new modification for my vehicle," I said, and we both laughed.

"I wonder how the others are doing now," he said.

"You can know right away, can't you?" I said.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you," he said. "I can't watch life anymore."

"What? Why?" I asked.

"Ever since I got my new clothes, connecting myself to him without morphing to Albatross gives me painful headache," he said.

"Another downside? I'm now even more convinced that your new clothes aren't worth all the things you lost," I said.

"Well, while watching life I learned that people can go out of their way just to look better," he said. "I'm still sure that this is worth all the loss."

"Whatever you say," I said. "Still, I'm worried about those Berry Beetles. They only escaped underground, they might return again sooner or later."

"If they dare to return, I will exterminate them with fire for real," he said.

"No, don't you dare. Don't you dare burn yourself up again," I said.

"I didn't burn myself up. Only my hands! And I healed them overnight. See?" he said, showing me his healed hands.

"I know! But I don't want to risk you losing control of the Flame Stones and burning yourself up completely!" I said. "I lost you once, and I don't want it to happen again!"

"Losing control? You don't need to worry about that because..." he said before suddenly stopping.

"Because what?" I asked.

"Never mind. Alright, I won't use the stones," he said. The rest of the day passed without any of us saying much.

At the next day, Almond went hunting again. This time I had prepared a way to follow him without either getting exhausted or scaring animals away from him.

"Brother, I appreciate that you're concerned about me but..." Almond said while walking straight.

"But what?" I asked, and he stopped walking.

"Watching me through Midnight Eye... I'm just speechless now..." he said, and he started walking again. The Midnight Eye satellite kept following him while I watched the monitor at home. Everything seemed fine for a while, but then he stopped again. This time, he turned his head and looked straight at the camera. He looked really upset.

"I can't take this anymore, brother!" he said, and then he transformed into Albatross and flew away, quickly disappearing from sight.

"Maybe I really have overdone it," I said. I then decided to call the satellite back. However, on the way home, the satellite spotted something terrible. The berry beetles had returned and they marched towards Strawberryland again.

"Almond, can you hear me?" I said, hoping that he still heard what I said and heard like he used to be, but there was no response. "I have to tell everyone else!"

I then ran out from the house and straight to the outfield of Strawberryland. While on the way, I suddenly noticed a trail of peppermint tea leaves. I wondered why there was that trail there, but then I looked to the left and saw the swarm of beetles following the trail. I quickly ran away from the swarm while still following the trail. I knew that I could just run to the side, but I felt that I had to know where the trail led to and who made the trail. Not too far later, the trail of peppermint tea leaves ended, but immediately followed by a trail of what seemed to be candy shards. I kept running along the trail until I saw that the trail led to the other side of a river through a bridge made from a single tree log.

"Hey, Blackberry! Here!" I suddenly heard a voice. I looked around and saw Peppermint waving hand at me while hiding in a bush. I then went to the bush and found that along wih her there were Angel, Orange, Ginger, and Strawberry. They were all crouching to hide behind the bush.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, kneeling with one knee.

"We are luring the berry beetles to the other side of the river," Peppermint said.

"Once they are at the other side, we will push the log into the river," Angel said.

"I see," I said. "Well, we better be ready. They are already here."

Just after my last sentence, the swarm of beetles came and went across the river. All of us then immediately ran towards the log bridge and pushed it into the river. However, when the log fell down I lost my balance and fell down into the river. I then got dragged by the river's current.

"Blackberry! Oh no!" Strawberry shouted, and everyone there started running to chase me.

"This is bad, it sure is!" Ginger said. "We are not too far from a waterfall!"

"Take my hand!" Peppermint shouted, reaching her hand out to me while running along the river. I tried to reach her hand, but failed. The river kept dragging me, who helplessly tried to swim to the side. I actually could swim, but it was the first time I had to swim in a river with such strong current. Not to mention that I had to swim with all my clothes on. I struggled to swim to the side, but my clothes which had absorbed water heavily burdened me.

"Is this... the end?" I thought. My arms and legs were exhausted, and I could feel that I started sinking into the water. I still could hear my friends shouting at me, reaching their hands out, but their voices were getting lower and lower. Maybe this would really be the end of me...

-To be continued-

Referenced episode: The Good Mayor. The second episode of Growing Up Dreams DVD.


	20. Chapter 12 End

Chapter 12.5: End of Paranoia

"BROTHER!" I suddenly heard a shout, which I immediately recognized as Almond's. He came running from behind the girls, and without hesitation he jumped into the river to save me. Swimming with full clothes was not a problem for him, and once he got close he grabbed my neck and dragged me to the side.

"You're really a bothersome kid, you know," Almond said as the others helped both of us to get up to the ground. We then sat on the ground under a nearby tree.

"I'm berry glad that you came, Almond!" Strawberry said.

"Yeah! That was the most definitely best heroic rescue I've ever seen for all my lifetime!" Ginger said.

"Uhh..." I said, feeling awkward. "Thank you, Almond."

"Don't mention it," he said. Then I noticed something.

"Hey, where's your necklace?" I asked. He then looked at his neck.

"I guess it fell down into the river," he said.

"But that means..." I said before he interrupted.

"Don't worry about that," he said. "I think we should only worry about those."

As he said his line, he looked at the other side of the river. The rest of us looked there and saw the swarm of berry beetles continuing to devour everything they came across.

"You all may have saved our land for now, but sooner or later they will find a way to return," he said.

"What are we gonna do?!" Angel asked in panic

"So what should we do? Any great ideas now?" Peppermint asked.

"Well, judging from their behaviour the only way to save Strawberryland for good is to bring all of them back to their original home," Ginger said.

"Berry Beetle Island? How on earth can we bring them all there?" Peppermint asked.

"I guess you'll have your answer soon," Almond said, smiling.

"Huh?" Peppermint said in confusion. Immediately, all of us heard a familiar noise of running engine. I couldn't believe what I heard, but indeed Albatross came and used his gravity field to take the whole swarm away. Everything happened so fast that everyone except Almond were astounded, let alone myself who knew that Almond and Albatross shouldn't have been able to exist at the same time.

"I will explain once we get home," Almond whispered to me. The silence continued for a few more seconds.

"Right. I forgot about Albatross," Peppermint said.

"We haven't seen him for a long time, am I right?" Ginger said.

"Yeah, but I'm berry glad that the beetles are now back at their home," Strawberry said.

"Wait a second! How can we be sure that Albatross will bring them to their home?" Peppermint asked.

"Albatross can hear everything Blackberry hears, right? I'm berry sure he heard about everything!" Strawberry replied.

"You're right, Strawberry!" Angel said. "Let's thank him when he comes back!"

"As if he will come back right here," Peppermint said.

"Why shouldn't I?" suddenly Albatross said from behind her. It was an awkward moment for Peppermint and she could only laugh timidly.

"Thank you berry much for bringing the berry beetles back to their home, Albatross," Strawberry said.

"Ah, it was nothing," Albatross said. "By the way, you two look messed up. I will take you home if you let me."

"Why not?" I said, looking at myself and Almond, who were completely soaked. Then, with proper goodbye beforehand, Albatross took both of us to my home. After landing, the two of us jumped off and then suddenly with a bright light Albatross disappeared. While I was still astounded, Almond walked to where Albatross was and took something from the ground. I then saw that it was his necklace.

"Dry yourself and change your clothes first," Almond said, putting on his necklace. "I'll explain after that."

I then went to my bedroom to do what he had told me to, and then when I returned to the living room, he was already there sitting on the sofa, and somehow his clothes were already dry.

"I suppose now is the time to explain," I said, sitting next to him.

"You know where I went this morning? After I got upset?" he asked.

"No," I said.

"I went to him," he said. "In there I asked if there was any solution to your paranoia."

"And his answer?" I asked.

"He said that he noticed my soul power having grown enough, and then he offered to split my soul," he said.

"Split your soul?" I said.

"Yes. Long story short, my soul is now split between this body of Almond Cookie and this necklace. There's no more drawback for not wearing the necklace and I can connect to him freely again, though I can no longer transform into Albatross. This necklace will be the one transforming from now on," he said.

"I see, and the Flame Stones? They can't exist in your hands and Albatross' thrusters at the same time, right?" I said.

"Yes, therefore I only can burn my hands while this necklace is a necklace," he said. "As if you'll allow me to do that anymore."

"Well..." I said, a bit timid. "Thank you for going though those for me."

"It's fine! Don't worry!" he said with a smile. "Although, there's one more side effect..."

"What is it this time?" I asked, a bit worried.

"I still never get tired, but now I need sleep just like you and other kids," he said.

"Oh bother..." I said. "Now I need to make a new bed."

-End of Chapter 12-


	21. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Without The Other Half

It was a starry night, a few weeks after the day Almond split his soul between his human body and his necklace. The seven of us, namely Strawberry, Angel, Orange, Ginger, Peppermint, Almond, and I were relaxing on the top of a small hill, lying down on mats we had brought ourselves. Ginger kept telling us about the names of star formations we could see in the sky.

"That's berry interesting, Ginger Snap," Strawberry said.

"Just how do you know all these things?" Peppermint asked.

"Oh, I've all kinds of books about stars stars and more stars! I just love to read about stars and outer space and all that!" Ginger replied.

"Maybe you'll be an astronaut when you grow up," Orange said.

"Yeah, maybe," Ginger said. "Maybe one day someday I'll go there and see those stars for myself!"

"Umm, we all have gone there, right?" I said.

"That's true, but we didn't get to enjoy it for long because suddenly that black hole came up and whoosh! Everything went dark!" Ginger said.

"And that's why you're not gonna catch me up there in the stars. I'm staying right here! That's my future," Peppermint said.

"Someone is traumatized, I see," Almond said with a grin.

"You have no idea how scary that was!" Peppermint said. "Anyway, if you want to go there again, Ginger, of course you can."

After saying her last line, Peppermint looked at Almond. Indeed, Almond's true identity had been revealed to everyone in Strawberryland not long after he split his soul. He had decided not to hide his identity anymore, and had confessed everything to everyone.

"Well, why not?" Almond said. "Shall we go right now?"

"If you are fine with that, which I hope so, yes! Let's go right now and fast!" Ginger said, accepting the offer. With a smile, Almond threw his necklace upwards, which then morphed into Albatross and brought all of us to outer space. Once again, we were all astonished by the beautiful view of stars above and our planet below. I could see the Black Hole not too far from us, but nobody else cared because they were too distracted by the view and Albatross resisted the hole's force with no effort.

"Berry beautiful!" Strawberry said.

"Can't agree even more for that," Angel said.

"I would like this to last forever!" Ginger said.

"Better not. You'll get bored eventually," Albatross said, and we all laughed.

"Almond, I haven't said this to you, but I'm berry glad to have you with us!" Strawberry said. "I don't care if you are a boy, a spaceship, or a soul of a planet. You are you, and we will always be friends no matter what."

"Thank you," Almond and Albatross replied at the same time.

Three days later not too long before noon, all seven of us were sitting in a gazebo at the outfield of Strawberryland. Strawberry was reading out a book for us. The book was about how a man named Phileas Fogg traveled around the world within 80 days as a challenge. He actually arrived back one day late, but because he crossed the International Date Line he got one extra day and that qualified him to be successful.

"International Date Line? What is that?" Almond asked.

"Well, that's actually quite a confusing thing. You know that the planet rotates for our day cycle, right?" I said and he nodded. "At one point agreed by all countries there's a line separating one day to the next. Right now is 21 May at 10 o'clock right? So let's say this gazebo is right at the International Date Line."

"Uh-huh?" Almond said as I walked to the West side of the gazebo.

"If I stand here on the West side, right now is 21 May at 10 o'clock," I said, then I walked to the other side. "But if I stand here, right now is 20 May at 10 o'clock."

"I don't get it," Almond said.

"Me neither, actually," I said, getting back to inside the gazebo.

"Putting that aside, I doubt anybody could actually get that far that fast," Peppermint said. "It's just impossible, unless they were in a jet airplane... or you."

"Albatross can go around the world in 10 minutes," Almond said. "But it will be just pointless if you don't have fun traveling."

"Peppermint, a lot of things are possible. If you have the right attitude, you can find ways around most any obstacle," Strawberry said.

"She's right, as always," suddenly we heard a very familiar voice. Pie Man and Sour Grapes came riding their wagon. "It's all about having a positive outlook. But of course, some things are still impossible," he continued as he got off from the wagon and approached us.

"Like what, Pie Man?" I asked cynically. "Like the thing you've been eavesdropping us about?"

"Exactly! Though I didn't get that 10 minutes you were babbling about," he said with a sinister grin, looking at Almond. "In any case, I'd give every pie in this wagon to anyone who could do that."

"If anybody could do it, Strawberry Shortcake could! She can find ways around any kind of obstacle!" Ginger said, infuriated by Pie Man's words.

"Uhh... Ginger..." Strawberry said.

"Yes, Yes I know," Pie Man said. "But still, she couldn't possibly make that trip."

"Oh, she could do it with her eyes clo..." Ginger said before interrupted.

"Yes, she can do it, but she won't do it," I interrupted, then I looked at Ginger. "Don't fall for the incitement, Ginger. We all know well that he will do anything at all cost to see Strawberry fail."

"Oh, so you're afraid she will lose?" he challenged.

"No, I'm afraid of YOU putting her in harm's way!" I said. "There's no reason for her to accept your challenge."

"No reason, eh?" he said.

After saying that, Pie Man walked back to the wagon where Sour Grapes was sitting waiting for him. Suddenly, he turned around and hurled something at me while saying, "Then I'll give her one!".

I had no idea what he had hurled at me, but at the last second Almond jumped in front of me, causing him to be the one getting hit in the face by the thing Pie Man had thrown. It turned out to be a small water balloon filled with purple water, and Almond's face ended up covered in purple. The purple water then immediately evaporated into purple smoke, and Almond fell down unconscious.

"Almond!" I shouted, holding him.

"What did you do to him?!" Angel shouted.

"Relax, he's just asleep," Pie Man said as some of us put Almond to lie down under the gazebo. "But he will never wake up!"

"What?!" Peppermint said in surprise.

"You no good Pie Man!" Orange said in anger.

"Don't worry. I have the antidote," Pie Man said, showing a sealed purple vial. "If you take the challenge and succeed, I'll give you all the pies in the wagon, and the antidote."

"And if she fails?" Ginger asked.

"You get nothing, of course! But you still can buy the antidote from me," Pie Man said with sinister grin. "The price would be... berries. Yes, all berries in Strawberryland! Fields included!"

After saying those, Pie Man went back to his wagon.

"I'll be back in 80 days, but I don't think you will be," he said, and then he left.

"That no good Pie Man!" Angel said. "Look at what he did to Almond!"

"I hope he will be fine," Orange said.

"Does any of us know what thing Pie Man threw at Almond?" I asked, and everyone shook their head.

"Judging from what he said, I can predict that it was a magical potion," Ginger said. "One that induces sleep."

"He will never wake up...?" Strawberry said. "I hope what Pie Man's said isn't true."

"I sure hope so, Strawberry..." I said. I was really worried that it would be the case.

"Where should we put him?" Peppermint asked. "To be honest, I don't think we can climb the ladder into your house while carrying him."

"Let's bring him to the Friendship Clubhouse," Strawberry said. "It's the closest place from here."

"I'll bring my motortrike," Ginger said. Ginger then went to her house and later returned with her motored tricycle with a cart attached behind it. We put Almond on the cart and then Ginger brought him to the Friendship Club house. When we arrived there, Almond was already put on a bed, with Ginger explaining the matter to Blueberry and Raspberry, who happened to be there.

"That no good Pie Man!" Raspberry said.

"I'll search my books," Blueberry said. "There might be some information on the potion you said."

"Many thanks, Blueberry!" Ginger said as Blueberry left the place.

"So what are you going to do, Strawberry?" Peppermint asked. "There's no way you can make it back in 80 days."

"Maybe not. But I will!" Strawberry said, which surprised everyone else.

"Are you serious, Strawberry? Our berry fields will be at stake!" Peppermint opposed. "We will find another way!"

"Our friend is more important than any berry fields!" Strawberry said, and all were speechless.

Later, at night of the same day, I was sitting next to Almond's bed. I held his warm hand, in mind asking why he had to save me. I also felt really upset because I could only sit there unable to do anything for him. I had no idea how long I sat there, but eventually I fell asleep right there. In the next day, I woke up and realized that I had overslept.

"Strawberry has probably departed already," I said. "I'll be back soon, Almond," I said, then I left the clubhouse towards the outfield. While walking, I noticed that Pie Man's wagon was coming from where I headed. I then decided to quickly hide behind a nearby bush. While hiding, I could overhear a conversation.

"With the engine of that boat 'fixed', she will never get far!" Pie Man said.

"So what are we going to do now? Just sit here and wait?" Sour Grapes asked cynically.

"No. That girl always somehow find a way to succeed. Therefore, I must make sure she won't," Pie Man said. "We will follow her!"

"What?! Are you crazy? It will cost us a fortune!" Sour Grapes said.

"Any amount of fortune does not compare to all the berries we can get," Pie Man said. After that, the wagon had gone too far for me to overhear anything further. Knowing that Strawberry had already departed, I then decided to return to Almond. When I arrived back at the clubhouse, Blueberry was there.

"Hi, Blueberry," I said.

"I'm sorry, Blackberry. I tried looking all over my books, but I couldn't find any information about the sleeping potion," Blueberry said.

"I see. Thank you," I said.

"No need to thank me. I absolutely didn't give any result," she said.

"But you tried," I said. "I appreciate your effort, and I believe Almond will do the same."

"Yeah, you're right," she said, and both of us looked at Almond's motionless body. I then sat next to Almond's bed again and stayed there. Hours later, there was nobody else in the clubhouse and once again my mind kept asking why he had to protect me, and also felt upset for being unable to do anything. But then suddenly I noticed that Almond's necklace started to shine. It then faded again, started shining again, and kept repeating.

"Maybe I should try wearing it?" I thought. I then took the necklace and put it around my neck. Suddenly, I heard a voice.

"Hey!" the voice said.

"Almond? Is that you?" I said.

"Pretty much. I'm the soul part put inside this necklace," the voice said. "I'm speaking in your head by the way. Nobody else can hear me."

"Do you know how I can wake you up?" I asked.

"It's not an easy matter," the voice said.

"Why? Because the sleeping potion is very difficult to cure?" I asked.

"That was not a sleeping potion!" the voice said. "It was a soul trap potion!"

"What?!" I said, surprised.

"Indeed! That potion sucked the soul out from Almond's body. When Pie Man said antidote, he actually meant the vial where the trapped soul is contained!" the voice said.

"That's plain horrible. That no good Pie Man!" I said, filled with anger.

"Calm down! Anger won't solve anything!" the voice said.

"How can I be so calm?! Now Pie Man is going to follow Strawberry to make sure she fails!" I said.

"That's why I went through the trouble of awakening myself like this! We both will follow Strawberry and keep her safe!" the voice said.

"Ah, that's right. You can transform into Albatross and bring us," I said.

"Easier said than done actually," the voice said. "Without the presence of my other half... Ah, never mind! Just bring me outside and throw me upwards!"

I immediately did what he had told me to, and the necklace transformed into Albatross. He then sucked me into the cockpit and immediately flew to chase Strawberry. However, just less than a minute later, he landed on Ice Cream Island roughly and reverted back to a necklace.

"Hey, what happened?" I asked after putting the necklace on.

"Sorry..." the voice replied with a lot of panting. "Without my other half nearby, I can't keep the form for long. Not to mention that I used a lot of soul power just to enable myself to speak to you."

"We're not going anywhere at this rate..." I said. Suddenly, someone greeted me from above.

"Hey, kid. Long time no see!" he said. I immediately recognized that it was Raven. "More trouble happening?"

"Yeah, actually," I said. I then told him about my problems.

"So you need a transport?" he said, and I nodded. "Follow me. There's something that might help you."

I then followed Raven to a shoreline not too far away. In there I saw a small boat with engine. The condition of the boat was quite far from acceptable, but there was no leak and there was still some gasoline inside.

"I can't go far with this," I said.

"I think your necklace might say otherwise," Raven said.

"Huh?" I asked.

"You said that the energy source of Albatross, the Sun Stone, is now that necklace, right?" he said. "It might be possible to use that energy source for this boat's engine."

"What do you think, Albatross?" I asked.

"Let me try it," Albatross said. The necklace then emitted gold aura, and the boat's engine did the same.

"Does that mean it worked?" I asked.

"Yes," Albatross said. I then got onboard the boat and sat near the engine.

"Have a safe trip, kid! I wish for your success!" Raven said.

"Thank you, Raven!" I said, and then I departed with the boat.

Thanks to the energy provided by Albatross, the boat could run much faster than it should. However, it was still too slow for me. I started to worry about not being able to catch up with Strawberry.

"We're not going to catch up at this rate," I said.

"Who said we were going to use this boat all the way across the ocean?" Albatross said.

"I have no idea about your idea. So please explain," I said.

"This is just to shorten the distance to our destination," he said. "Tomorrow morning I will have gathered enough soul power to transform again."

"For how long?" I asked. "Last time, you didn't bring us far."

"Not long, but much longer than the last time," he replied. "Remember that I used most of my soul power to enable this telepathic communication."

"Then maybe you should stop speaking?" I said.

"I said 'enable' right? It's now permanently enabled and won't consume any more soul power. Think of it as a permanent upgrade," he said.

"Alright, I understand," I said.

Later, nightfall came and I was still riding the boat with no land in sight.

"I wonder why I don't feel hungry at all," I said.

"Sun Stone's energy. But don't depend too much of it. Eat real food once you can," Albatross said.

"I see," I said.

"Let's stop and get some sleep. My energy will keep you warm and comfortable," he said. I nodded and after the boat stopped I lied down. Like he had said, somehow the hard surface still felt comfortable and the cold night didn't bother me at all because I felt warm.

"You know," I said. "I wonder how your other half is doing now, being trapped inside that vial."

"I think he's not aware, like in a deep sleep. When he returns to Almond Cookie body he won't know anything," he said.

"That's good to hear," I said. "Can't imagine how he suffers if he's aware all the time."

"Yeah..." he said, then I fell asleep a few minutes later. When morning arrived, we continued the trip for a few hours to close some more distance. Then suddenly the boat's engine stopped.

"Alright, it's time," Albatross said.

"Try to land some time before your transformation expires. We can't risk causing a commotion from rough landing in the middle of a city," I said.

"I'll try my best," he said. I then threw the necklace high and it transformed into Albatross. After putting me into the cockpit and closing the canopy, he immediately flew fast. Less than three minutes later, he slowed down right above a city I knew: Pearis.

"She should be in this city by now," he said.

"Definitely. Let's find a place to land," I said. However, suddenly he deformed back into a necklace while we were still about five stories from the ground. I fell down screaming, and then I had no idea what happened next.

I had no idea at all whether I survived that fall or not, and if I indeed survived I also had no idea how long I had been unconscious and how badly I got injured. When I woke up, I realized that I was on a bed in a bedroom. My whole body felt pretty painful, although still bearable.

"Crepes! He's awake!" suddenly a familiar voice shouted.

"Really?! C'erry I'm zo glad!" another familiar voice shouted.

"What happened? Where am I?" I asked, seeing that the two girls were Cherry Cudler and Crepes Suzette.

"You fell down five stories high! You were very lucky that you fell through a tall tree and landed right into a bush below it!" Cherry said.

"Ot'erwize you wouldn't be 'ere in C'erry's 'ouze!" Crepes said.

"I just happened to be there so I brought you here," Cherry said. "But still, you got some minor rib fracture. You'll need rest."

"T'ankfully, your armz and legz are just fine azide from bruizez and scrat'ez," Crepes said.

"I see..." I said. "By the way, where's my necklace?"

"It's right there," Cherry said, looking at the shelf next to my bed. I looked there and saw my necklace. I immediately took it and put it on.

"Hey, Almond," I said in my head, but there was no reply.

"T'at necklaze lookz like Albatrozz," Crepes said.

"Because it is Albatross," I said, which of course confused the two girls. I then told them everything about Albatross and why I had the accident.

"Zo you were following Strawberry S'ortcake? Ze and 'er friend Peppermint Fizz left by train two dayz ago," Crepes said.

"So Peppermint is accompanying her..." I said. "Do they know about me?"

"No. W'en t'ey left I didn't know about t'e accident yet. C'erry called me t'e next day," Crepes said.

"How long have I been unconscious?" I asked.

"Two days," Cherry said.

"I see," I said. "But for now I wonder why Albatross is not replying me."

"Well..." Cherry said. "I might be wrong, but maybe he feels guilty."

"Guilty?" I asked.

"You fell because he suddenly deformed while flying, right?" she said. "Maybe now he's afraid of you getting angry at him."

"I see..." I said. Then I looked at the necklace. "Almond, come and talk to me. I'm not angry at you."

"...Really?" a voice came out from the necklace. I could notice that Cherry and Crepes couldn't hear him. "But I..."

"You couldn't control it. I don't blame you," I said. "Though now it seems I cannot continue the trip. Sorry..."

"No! I should be the one who say sorry!" he said.

"Never mind. What's past is past. The main thing now is that I'll be stuck here for a while," I said.

"Not if I can help it!" he said. Then the necklace started to shine brightly.

"W'at 'appened?" Crepes asked.

"It's shining?" Cherry asked.

"He just said he could help me. I don't know what he meant," I said.

"Blackberry! Look! Your arms!" Cherry said. I looked at my scratched and bruised arms, and noticed that they were gradually healing. The pain over my body also disappeared gradually. Three minutes later, the necklace finally stopped shining. I then tried moving my body around, and there was no pain at all. All injuries were gone as if the accident had never happened.

"I never knew that your regeneration can be used for this," I said.

"It took a lot of soul power, though. I won't be able to transform for a week at least," he said.

"I guess we have to travel using conventional means, then," I said.

"Umm, 'ello Blackberry. Could you tell uz w'at 'appened?" Crepes asked.

"You've been talking to Albatross, but we can't hear him so we don't understand a thing," Cherry said. I then explained everything to them.

"I guess I have to go immediately to follow them," I said.

"But it'z zeven in ze evening now and ze lazt train is already gone," Crepes said. "Ze next one iz tomorrow morning."

"You should just rest now. Tomorrow morning we will take you to the station," Cherry said.

"Can't be helped I guess," I said. "By the way. Thank you very much for taking care of me."

"No, I didn't do anyt'ing! C'erry did all the work!" Crepes said.

"Thank you, Cherry," I said, hugging her.

"Cherry love hug..." Cherry said.

-End of Chapter 13-

Referenced episode: Around the Berry Big World. The second episode of "Berry Big Journeys" DVD.


	22. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: We Meet Again

One week had passed after the day when Albatross had healed me from the injuries I had gotten. During this one week, I have been taking trains to chase Strawberry and Peppermint, who were three days ahead of me. Because I pretty much used the train of same schedule, chasing her was difficult. The only way I could catch up to her was to keep taking the immediate next train in every station, hoping that the two girls would stop to look around or rest from time to time. I even took any available night train so I could keep chasing her even while asleep. However, I was not even sure if I got closer or even passed her without knowing. Albatross couldn't use his scanner while in necklace form, so I had to wait until he could transform again.

This day, while standing around at a station waiting for the next train to come, suddenly there was an announcement that the next train would be delayed because the train two schedules ahead had been obstructed by a herd of sheeps for one hour.

"What a waste of time," I said.

"Can't be helped," Albatross said.

"I'm not sure whether I should hope they are in that blocked train or not," I said.

"I see what you mean," Albatross said. "If they're in that train, at least you're not falling behind again. But if they're not and already ahead, they have better chance to finish the challenge."

"Right," I said.

"I can transform again if you want me to," he said.

"Better save it for later," I said.

"Okay," he said. "By the way, bro..."

"What is it?" I asked.

"We better not talk anymore for now. You look like a weirdo doing that," he said. I then looked around and noticed that some people are looking at me with confused face. I felt pretty embarassed, so I walked some distance from them.

Three days later, while waiting at another station, I heard an announcement that all train schedules on that day had to be cancelled because the railroad was blocked by a big fallen tree.

"Albatross, I guess it's time," I said.

"Alright," he said. I then walked to an area behind the station where there were no other people around. In there, I threw the necklace up and it transformed into Albatross. He then sucked me into cockpit and flew along the railway.

"While you're here, can you use your gravity field to move the fallen tree out of the way?" I asked.

"Sure, no problem," he replied. Soon, we saw the fallen big tree which was blocking the railroad. There was a train in front of it, unable to proceed because of the fallen tree. Albatross then flew closer to the fallen tree and slowly lifted it using his gravity field. He easily moved the tree to an open field. After the tree was safely put down, he flew away quickly, leaving some people below staring in confusion.

"Can you scan for Strawberry?" I asked.

"Sure. Wait a minute," he replied. He then stopped and hovered above a jungle. "That's pretty strange. According to my scanner, Strawberry and Peppermint are right below..."

Before Albatross could finish his sentence, he suddenly deformed again. Once again, I fell down screaming. I fell through something like a sheet of cloth, ripping it open, and then I landed on something hard. I didn't get any injuries because the cloth I had fallen through had miraculously absorbed my fall, but hitting the hard surface was still pretty painful. Soon after, the necklace fell right on my chest.

"Blackberry?" suddenly I heard a very familiar voice.

"Why are you here?" another very familiar voice asked. I opened my eyes and saw that they were indeed Strawberry and Peppermint.

"Oh, hi, Strawberry, Peppermint," I said with a little laugh, still trying to endure the pain from falling.

"You surprised me, y'know. Suddenly falling right here through the umbrella," Peppermint said.

"Are you all right?" Strawberry asked.

"I guess so..." I said, trying to get up into sitting position. "Hey, if you keep repeating this, you'll eventually kill me for real."

"Sorry..." Albatross replied, sounding ashamed.

"Umm, who are you talking to?" Peppermint asked. "Did you hit your head?"

"Well, I guess I have a lot to explain," I said. "By the way, where am I?"

"We're riding an elephant with the help of this nice friend to get through the jungle because the railroad was blocked by a fallen tree," Strawberry said, looking at the elephant rider who was sitting at the very front.

"I see," I said, then I told the two girls everything.

"So before this you already fell once and got injured? Seriously, if I were you I wouldn't ride him again. Do you have any fear in you?" Peppermint said.

"Of course I was afraid," I said. "But my friends are worth more than myself and I will take any risk to keep them safe."

"I appreciate that berry much, Blackberry," Strawberry said. "But none of us want any of our friends to risk themselves so much. There is always be a way to overcome any obstacle without risking yourself berry greatly."

"I'm not so sure about that," I said.

We all then continued the trip with the elephant ride. The jungle was so huge that it took many days. Every day, We continued the trip from the morning until evening and we stayed overnight at small villages we came across. I saw no sight of Purple Pie Man and Sour Grapes during the trip through the jungle, but I felt that I still needed to be careful.

"We've made it! We're out of the jungle!" Peppermint said in excitement when we were indeed finally out of the jungle.

The elephant then stopped near a coastline and sat down for us to jump off. Strawberry and Peppermint jumped off to the right while I jumped off to the left. After that, the elephant stood up and walked away.

"Thanks for your help, my friend, and thank you, nice elephant!" Strawberry said, waving her hands.

CRACK!

"What is that sound?" Peppermint asked.

"I don't know. Blackberry! Are you all right?" Strawberry asked, looking at me, who was looking away from her.

"Well, not too good," I said, turning around and showing my broken glasses I held in my hands.

"What happened?" Strawberry asked.

"My glasses fell off when I jumped, and I carelessly stepped on it," I said.

"What a bummer," Peppermint said. "Can you still see now?"

"Of course I still can. But now I'm pretty much blind for anything further than 5 meters away," I said. "Never mind that. Let's move on."

"Strawberry Shortcake? Is that you?" Suddenly we heard a familiar voice.

"I know that voice," Strawberry said, looking back. "Tea Blossom!"

I then saw a blurry figure running to Strawberry. I finally could recognize her as Tea Blossom when she got close and hugged Strawberry. We all then walked together while Strawberry explained everything to Tea Blossom.

"So you see, now we need to find a ship to take us the rest of the way back," Strawberry said.

"If we can get home in three weeks, we can cure Almond without that rotten Pie Man getting our berry fields," Peppermint said.

"I'm sure we'll find what you need," Tea Blossom said. "By the way, Blackberry. Where are your glasses?"

"I broke them by accident," I said.

"I see. I might be able to find something for you too," she said. "Let's go to my house first. It's almost lunch time."

All of us then went to Tea Blossom's house and had lunch there. After we were done Tea Blossom left the house saying that she knew someone who could help me, so the three of us remained inside the house for a few minutes until she came back bringing a girl in red clothes.

"Mint Tea?" Peppermint said, surprised.

"Ah yes, you both know her already," Tea Blossom said. "Strawberry Shortcake, meet Mint Tea. Mint Tea, Strawberry Shortcake."

"Nice to meet you, Mint Tea!" Strawberry said, standing up and offering a handshake. Mint Tea accepted it reluctantly.

"So, who needs help?" Mint Tea asked, a bit cynically.

"Uhh, me," I said, showing my broken glasses to her.

"This? Are you kidding me? This is broken beyond repair!" she said. "But alright, I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you," I said.

"Thank her instead," she said, looking at Tea Blossom. "If not for her, I wouldn't accept this."

"Thank you for your kindness, Mint Tea," Tea Blossom said.

"Hmph!" Mint tea replied with slightly blushing cheek, looking away from Tea Blossom.

"Strawberry, Peppermint, let's go find a boat to bring you home," Tea Blossom said.

"Yeah, let's go. We must get back as soon as we can!" Peppermint said.

"We'll be back soon, Blackberry and Mint Tea," Strawberry said, and the three of them left the place. Mint Tea then put something that seemed like a toolbox on the table in Tea Blossom's living room and started working on something.

"How did this happen anyway?" she asked while still working.

"They fell off when I jumped off an elephant ride, and my foot landed on them," I replied.

"How careless of you," she said, examining the remains of my glasses. "Minus 5? Not only your glasses, your eyes are also horribly broken!"

"I don't even know how they became like this," I said.

"You're strange," she said. "And so are your glasses. They don't seem like any ordinary glasses..."

"Well..." I said.

"Tell me. Are you an inventor?" she asked.

"Uhh, yes.." I said.

"Figures. The frame has tiny cables inside. What do they do?" she asked.

"They help me to see in the dark. Blind person can also use it to see," I replied.

"That's... quite cool," she said.

"But you can't use it for too long or you'll have very bad headache," I said.

"How long did it take you to make them?" she asked.

"One hour," I replied. "But without my tools, I can't do anything here."

"Alright! Here!" she said, giving me something. "Of course I can't repair your glasses, but I've made a replacement for them!"

"Let's see..." I said, taking the new glasses from her hand. I then wore them and my vision became clear again. I then looked at myself on a nearby mirror. The replacement glasses she had made for me looked just like my original glasses. "This is great! Thank you!"

"Really?" she asked.

"Definitely! It was surprising that you can do this," I said.

"Surprising?" she asked, getting upset.

"Oh, umm... I mean..." I said. Getting timid because I didn't expect my last line to upset her.

"Yeah, that figures. We only met once before and I acted like a complete brat back then," she said.

"No, you didn't!" I said. "You were just being cautious. Me and Peppermint were complete strangers back then, so it was just fine!"

"Really?" she asked.

"Of course!" I said. Immediately after, the girls who had left returned.

"We're home!" Tea Blossom said.

"And we got a boat ready for us tomorrow morning!" Peppermint said.

"Wow, Blackberry! I'm berry surprised that Mint Tea has fixed your glasses so quickly!" Strawberry said, noticing that I was wearing glasses again.

"They're not my glasses. She made a replacement," I said.

"Replacement? But they look exactly like your old glasses!" Peppermint said. "You're amazing, Mint Tea!"

"Nobody can match her when it comes to handcrafting," Tea Blossom said. "She's a master of it."

"Stop it, Tea Blossom! That's embarrassing!" Mint Tea shouted with her cheeks completely red, the rest of us just laughed.

When Mint Tea went home, I went with her because I also wanted to walk around the area. She offered to give me a tour around the place, and I gladly accepted. With her, I saw a lot of places such as a bamboo forest, a beautiful riverside, and The Great Wall of Chocolate itself. Later, we found a small pier at the coastline and there was a boat docking there.

"Maybe that boat is the one I'll be using tomorrow?" I said.

"Well, I have no idea. Why don't you ask the captain if you want to make sure?" she said.

"Yeah, let's go there," I said.

Both of us then walked to the boat to make sure if it was the boat I would use at the next day. When we arrived there, there was nobody on the boat, but we got on board anyway.

"Hello, anybody here?" Mint Tea shouted. There was no answer.

"Maybe the captain is somewhere else for now?" I said.

"Maybe, but now I'm curious," Mint Tea said. "Let's check the lower deck."

"I don't think we should. That's trespassing," I said.

"No worries. We can just say we're lost," she said, walking to the lower deck entrance. I followed without saying anything. Later in the lower deck, there was nobody inside.

"Let's just go. The captain isn't here right now," I said.

"Well, alright," she said. However, soon someone entered.

"What are you doing here?" a voice familiar to me asked. It was Purple Pie Man disguising as the boat captain.

"Uh, we just wanted to make sure if this boat is the one my friends will be riding tomorrow," Mint Tea said.

"Yeah it is. So?" he asked.

"Then we're leaving. See you tomorrow," she said, starting to walk to the entrance. I followed behind her, hoping that Pie Man wouldn't recognize me.

"Not so fast, child," Pie Man said, grabbing my arms. "Did you really think I wouldn't recognize you? The weird boy with his weird devices?"

"And it seems you knew that I saw through your thin disguise," I said. I tried to get free, but I naturally couldn't match the strength of an adult.

"Hey, what are you doing to Blackberry?!" Mint Tea said. Suddenly, Sour Grapes came from behind her and grabbed her arms. "What are you doing?! Let me go!"

"Nice work, Sour Grapes," Pie Man said.

"Now what are we going to do? We can't let them go, but if we don't their friends will get worried and suspect us," Sour Grapes said.

"Hmm..." Pie Man said, thinking. "Hey, girl. There must be a telephone in the place this boy's friends are staying, right?"

"If yes, so what?" Mint Tea replied.

"My sister there has a cellphone. Call them and tell them that this boy is going to stay at your house tonight and meet them at this boat tomorrow," Pie Man said.

"And why should I do that?" Mint Tea said.

"Because you don't want me to pour this poison on him," Pie Man said, holding a green vial with his left hand while holding my arms with his right hand. Mint Tea did as Pie Man had told her because of the threat.

"Hmph! There you go!" Mint Tea said after her call had ended. Pie Man then opened the green vial and drank all the content.

"Apple syrup. Tasty!" he said, followed by a laugh. Mint Tea was very angry because she had been deceived, but Sour Grapes had already grabbed her arms.

And so, history repeated itself for me. I got locked up inside the lower deck of a boat with my hands tied behind my back. Though this time my legs were tied as well and my mouth was gagged. I could only sat on the floor quietly, leaning to the wall, and the same applied to Mint Tea. She tried struggling to get free, but it was of no use.

"In trouble again," Albatross said telepathically.

"Yeah, can you do something?" I said in my mind.

"Afraid not," he replied. "I can't do anything in necklace form, and if I transform right now you'll be crushed by my spaceship body along with this boat."

"So I guess we have no choice other than wait," I said in my mind.

Later, nightfall came and I felt really hungry and tired. I believed the same applied to Mint Tea, but there was nothing we could do. Suddenly, we heard someone coming. The place was dark so we couldn't see clearly, but soon we could recognize that it was Sour Grapes bringing a lit lantern and some other things. She then hanged the lantern near the deck ceiling and kneeled in front of us. She then removed our gag.

"I brought some food for you both," she said.

"And you expect us to eat with our hands tied?" Mint Tea said.

"Of course not. I will help you," Sour Grapes said. She then patiently fed us until we were done with the food.

"You're much nicer than that man," Mint Tea said.

"I'm sorry about my brother. I actually don't agree with him myself," Sour Grapes said.

"Then why did you help him?" Mint Tea asked.

"Because I have promised him that I would help him forever, no matter what. I'm sorry," Sour Grapes said. She then gagged our mouth again and then she put an old mattress with two old pillows on the floor right in front of us. "Lie down here and sleep. Both of you."

We did as told by her, and then she put a blanket over us.

"I know this is not comfortable, but hang in there," she said. Both of us nodded, and we could see her smiling warmly before leaving the place. Having to sleep with our hands and legs tied and mouth gagged was of course not comfortable, but much better than without the mattress, pillows, and warm blanket. Both of us fell asleep soon enough.

I had no idea what Pie Man had told Strawberry and Peppermint in the following morning, but we could feel the boat departing, which meant Strawberry and Peppermint were upstairs on the boat and they were somehow convinced not to look for me. Mint Tea struggled hard and tried to scream, but all she did were in vain. The two of us spent the rest of the day doing nothing at all other than sitting idly, being unable to move. Nobody came downstairs at all. I was really bored and my body felt really sore, and I knew the same could apply to Mint Tea. I really wondered how Pie Man managed to prevent Strawberry and Peppermint from looking down here, but bed time came again so we just went to sleep.

In the following morning, not long after the two of us woke up, we heard someone rushing downstairs. It was apparently Strawberry and Peppermint. They looked really horrified.

"Blackberry! Mint Tea!" Strawberry shouted, running to us. "Are you two okay?"

"That no good Pie Man! How could he have done this to you?" Peppermint said.

"I'm berry sorry for not knowing this earlier," Strawberry said as she released me.

"I'm sorry too! I should have not trusted him!" Peppermint said as she released Mint Tea.

"What took you so long?! Are you two dumb or what?!" Mint Tea said, looking very upset.

"Calm down, Mint Tea," I said.

"How can I be so calm when...!" Mint Tea said before someone interrupted. It was Pie Man himself, no longer in disguise.

"Alright, now that you have had your reunion, get out of my boat," Pie Man said.

Soon, the four of us were left stranded on a beach which seemed far from Strawberryland. According to Strawberry, we were already at the same land with Strawberryland, but we were far south. To make matters worse, there was only one week left.

"Now, what should we do?" I asked.

"Now we're really not going to make it," Peppermint said.

"Don't give up yet, Peppermint. We will overcome this obstacle," Strawberry said.

"How? We're still far from Strawberryland, and we have no vehicle!" Peppermint said.

"I don't care about that!" suddenly Mint Tea said.

"What?" Peppermint said.

"I don't care about your contest or whatever it is!" Mint Tea said, starting to cry. "I don't know this place! I'm scared! I just want to go home!"

After saying it, she broke down crying. I could understand her. That day had been supposed to be just another ordinary day for her, but all of a sudden she had been kidnapped and had been brought far away from her home with no idea how and when she would be able to get back. I then looked at my necklace.

"Albatross..." I said.

"Yeah, I know," he replied. I then threw my necklace upwards and it morphed into Albatross. Mint Tea seemed very surprised.

"Mint Tea, this is Albatross, my spaceship. He will take you home in a flash," I said.

"Spaceship? Did you...?" Mint Tea said before I interrupted.

"He can't fly for long, so you should go now. Save any questions for later, okay?" I said. She then smiled and nodded, and Albatross immediately took her and flew away.

"Uhh... Blackberry. Do you know about what you have done?" Peppermint asked.

"She wants to go home, so I helped her with Albatross," I said. "What's wrong with that?"

"Did you realize that you have just thrown away our chance to get back home in time?" she asked.

"Aren't we supposed not to use jet planes for this challenge?" I asked back.

"Pie Man cheated by doing this to us! That rule doesn't matter anymore!" she said.

"Peppermint, it's true that Pie Man cheated on us, but that doesn't mean we can cheat as well!" Strawberry said.

"So how are we going to make it now?! We're in the middle of nowhere!" Peppermint said.

"Not really, I think," I said, which confused Peppermint. "Don't you think this beach looks familiar?"

"Huh?" Peppermint said, looking around. "Oh yeah, this place does seem familiar..."

"We're near Tangerina Torta's place," I said, and the two girls seemed to be delighted. "Let's go."

We then walked into the forest, and not long after that we found Tangerina Torta's house. Just as we arrived, she greeted us from the balcony of her tree house. All of us then sat together inside her house, and Strawberry told her everything including our need for a vehicle to get us home in time. Fortunately, Tangerina had a scooter available. But it could only fit two persons so I had to stay. I needed much treatment anyway, because I had spent the previous day without any food and water.

"Be careful on the way," I said as the two girls were about to go.

"We will!" Strawberry said.

"Pie Man thinks we're going to fail for sure, so I guess he won't get in your way now," I said.

"That's good to hear and I really hope you're right," Peppermint said.

"Thank you for your help, Blackberry! I hope you will catch up soon!" Strawberry said.

"I will. Once Albatross returns I will go straight to Strawberryland and wait for you there," I said, and the two girls left the place.

four days later, after lunch time, Albatross came flying near Tangerina's house and soon reverted back into a necklace. I picked the necklace up and put it on.

"What took you so long?" I asked. "I actually expected you to come three days ago."

"Sorry," he replied. "She needed some treatment after spending a full day without food and water so I used my soul power to heal her."

"I see," I said.

One day later, Albatross was ready to transform again. After saying goodbye to Tangerina, we left her place and flew straight to the clubhouse Strawberryland. When I arrived, Blueberry and Orange were there sitting in the main room. They looked surprised when I entered the building.

"Blackberry Bun!" Orange said. "Where have you been?"

"You absolutely made us confused with your disappearance," Blueberry said.

"Yeah, sorry. I was in a hurry," I said, then I told them everything.

"Really? That no good Pie Man!" Orange said.

"Let's hope Strawberry will make it in time," I said. "Eh, not hope. Believe is the better word."

"That's right. Absolutely!" Blueberry said.

Two days later, I was waiting for Strawberry at the gazebo used for the finish line. Angel, Ginger, and Orange were also with me, as well as Almond's body which was put on the gazebo bench. Not long later, the wagon we all knew and not love came. Both Pie Man and Sour Grapes came off from the wagon and approached us. As I had expected, they were surprised seeing me.

"You? How did you...?" Pie Man said.

"Jet plane. Therefore I don't count for your challenge," I said. "Strawberry will come soon. You'll see."

"I will just wait here for my berries then," Pie Man said, seeming relieved.

"Give me the antidote," I said. "Or rather... the vial where you contain his soul."

"So you knew..." he said. "Why should I?"

"Either Strawberry makes it in time or not, you'll give me that vial anyway," I said.

"He's right," Sour Grapes said. "Don't make him suffer for any longer!"

"Alright, alright," Pie Man said, and then he took a purple vial from his pocket and gave it to me. "Open this under his nose and let him inhale it."

I then immediately went to the gazebo bench where Almond was sleeping. I could notice Strawberry and Peppermint coming right after I had received the vial, but I didn't care much because I just wanted to return Almond's soul to his body. I took his necklace from my neck and put it on him, and then I did as Pie Man had told me. Purple smoke came out from the vial and Almond inhaled it. Just one second later, he opened his eyes and got up to sitting position.

"Hey, brother," he said, then without saying anything I hugged him tight. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"Welcome back, Almond," I said, leaking tears.

"Oh..." he said, seeming to understand. "But you need to let me go."

"Let me do this, just for a little longer," I said, still hugging him tight.

"I need to settle things with that Pie Man," he said. I then released my hug.

"Settle things?" I asked.

"Come with me," he said, standing up and walking to Pie Man. I followed him and when I came close I noticed both Pie Man and Sour Grapes being upset and my other friends cheering. It was obvious that Strawberry had won the challenge.

"Hey, Pie Man," Almond said.

"You won! Are you happy now?" Pie Man said, still upset.

"Not in your life," Almond said, coming closer to Pie Man. "Do you know how it felt for me?"

"What do you mean?" Pie Man asked back.

"I repeat! Do you have any idea, about how it felt for me being trapped inside that vial?!" Almond said. He seemed very angry.

"Huh? But..." Pie Man said before Almond interrupted.

"Imagine yourself, being hanged, unable to move, bound by chains from all directions, inside nothing but emptiness!" Almond shouted. "That's how I felt! For! Eighty! Straight! Days!"

"But... That's impossible!" Pie Man said in disbelief. "Any soul trapped by the potion should be in deep sleep, and when it returns to the body it shouldn't even remember anything!"

"Let's just say that my soul is a bit... special," Almond said, raising his left hand to about the same height as his shoulder. He then used the Flame Stone power to set his left hand on fire. That of course surprised both Pie Man and Sour Grapes, and probably my other friends as well because none of them had ever seen Almond doing such thing.

"W-what are you...?!" Pie Man said, taking a few steps back.

"You have ten seconds..." Almond said, increasing the size of the fire on his hand and starting to count down from ten. Both Pie Man and Sour Grapes didn't need explanation at all. They both ran to their carriage and rushed it to escape. After his countdown reached zero, he was about to throw his necklace. However, I hugged him from behind.

"Stop it, Almond. Please..." I said.

"Let me go, brother. I must do this," he said.

"I know you're upset and angry for what Pie Man has done," I said. "But anything done out of rage won't bring anything good."

"He is berry right, Almond," Strawberry said.

"Please take a rest and calm down," Peppermint said.

"You are all too soft," he said, putting off the fire on his hand. "If you keep this up they will just keep coming back for more."

"Let them come, and we all will work together to make sure they won't get our berry fields, ever," I said, followed by all girls nodding. Almond then sighed.

"Alright, if you all say so," he said. "You can let me go now, brother."

I then released my hug, and all of us agreed to go home and rest.

"By the way, Almond," I said as the two of us walked to my home.

"Yes?" he said.

"Do you realize that what you did will possibly backfire on you?" I said.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Now that Pie Man and Sour Grapes know that you're special, when they return their first priority will be to get rid of you with any scheme they can come up with," I said.

"Let them come and try," he said.

"Also, I'm glad that you didn't go completely insane," I said. "I don't think I would be able to stay sane after being trapped for 80 days."

"80 days is nothing compared to my previous life as a stone," he said.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," I said. "But then why did you bring that up if it was nothing for you?"

"Just to make him feel guilty," he replied. "Though I'm not sure if it worked or not."

"Well, let's just wait and see if he will ever dare to return," I said. "And if he does, we all will make sure that any scheme he has will fail."

"Count me in for that," he said.

-End of Chapter 14-

Referenced episode: Around the Berry Big World. The second episode of Berry Big Journeys DVD.


	23. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Over The Top

A week had passed after the trip around the world. Strawberryland had once again been saved from Purple Pie Man's grasp and all of us were glad. During this one week, nothing special had happened. Every single person on Strawberryland enjoyed their peaceful time without having to deal with Purple Pie Man or any other threat. On this peaceful day, I was sitting on my working table making a new device, while Almond was playing outside.

"Hey bro! Check this out!" Almond said, right after he came back.

"What is it?" I asked, turning my working chair around.

"Our friends are going to go here tomorrow! Let's go there too!" he said, giving me a piece of paper. I took the paper from him and read it. It was a brochure of a ranch where people can come to breathe on the country air and experience the life down on the ranch.

"Who are going there?" I asked.

"Lemon Meringue, Plum Puddin', Watermelon Kiss, Tangerina Torta, Rainbow Sherbet, Banana Candy, Blueberry Muffin, and Apricot," he replied.

"I'm not sure about this," I said.

"Why not?" he asked.

"I just don't feel like it," I replied. "I'm not really fond of going out anyway."

"Come on, bro! Please," he said.

"Can't you just go by yourself?" I asked.

"Not without you!" he said. I then pondered for a while.

"Alright if you want it," I said after sighing. "This device can wait anyway."

"Yaay! I'll tell them then!" he said, leaving the house running. I could only hope I had not made a bad decision.

At the next morning, the thing that woke me up was my telephone ringing. I picked it up while still being drowsy, and Almond was still fast asleep.

"Hello..." I said.

"Blackberry, are you coming or not?" the voice on the other side asked. "The bus is about to depart!"

"What?! Oh my, both me and Almond overslept!" I said in surprise.

"Do you want us to wait for you?" the voice asked. "But we can't hold the bus for long!"

"Uhh..." I said. "Go without us!"

"Are you sure?" the voice asked.

"We will come with another means! Don't worry about us!" I said.

"Alright if you say so. We'll wait for you at the location. See you soon, Blackberry," the voice said.

"See you soon, Lemon Meringue," I said, hanging the phone up.

"What happened...?" Almond asked, still in his drowsiness.

"We overslept," I said.

"I guess that can't be helped then..." he said.

"Yeah..." I said. "I'll get ready."

"I'll sleep for five more minutes then..." Almond said, going to sleep again.

About two hours later, the bus arrived at the ranch. All the girls on the bus were getting off, and then they were greeted by the owner of the ranch, who was a girl with orange ponytail in cowboy outfit.

"Welcome to Berry Prairie Dude Ranch! I'd like you to meet your ranch hands; Strawberry and Angel Cake!" the owner said. The girls were surprised that their ranch hands were indeed Strawberry Shortcake and Angel Cake, who were already in their cowboy outfit.

Soon, the teams were divided. Lemon, Banana, Blueberry, and Plum were in Strawberry's team, while Tangerina, Apricot, Watermelon, and Rainbow were in Angel's team.

"Is this everybody?" Strawberry asked.

"Well, there are supposed to be two more, but they overslept," Lemon said.

"Really? That's too bad. Who are they?" Strawberry asked.

"Blackberry and Almond," Plum said.

"But when I called them Blackberry said that they would come with another means," Lemon said.

"Well..." Strawberry said. "If it's them, they will come... about now."

Right after Strawberry said the last line, something familiar to most of the girls there came. It was Albatross, and when it arrived right above the front gate of the ranch, Almond and I jumped out from it. We landed safely because of Albatross' gravity field keeping our fall slow enough, and right after we had landed Albatross deformed back into necklace form. Almond caught the necklace and put it around his neck again.

"Sorry we're late!" Almond said.

"We're berry glad that you two made it here, Blackberry and Almond!" Strawberry said, welcoming us.

"Well, I guess I'm the only one who needs an explanation about what just happened, huh?" the ranch owner said.

"Annie, meet Blackberry Bun and his brother Almond Cookie," Strawberry said. "Blackberry and Almond, meet Annie Oatmeal."

"Nice to meet you," I said.

"Let me explain that the spaceship you saw was my true form. And before you ask, yes I'm not human. But let's just put that aside, alright?" Almond said.

"Alright, nice to meet you two. Welcome to Berry Prairie Dude Ranch!" Annie said. "Now pick your team."

"Team?" I asked.

"There are two teams here: Strawberry's and Angel Cake's. The two teams already has the same number of members, so it will be best if you two are in separate team. However, if you really want to be in the same team, I can arrange," Annie explained.

"What do you say, bro?" Almond asked.

"I'm fine either way actually," I said.

"Same, so let's separate," he said.

"Alright, I'll be in Strawberry's team," I said.

"Then I'll be in Angel Cake's team," he said. "Good luck, bro!"

"Good luck to you too," I said. I then approached Strawberry's team and Almond went to Angel Cake's team.

"Welcome to the team!" Strawberry said.

"Almond Cookie. With all his special abilities he's certainly the best competitor of the entire Strawberryland. With him in my team, this is gonna be an easy win!" Angel Cake said with low voice and grinning. Nobody heard her except Almond himself, who then decided not to talk about it.

Later, all teams were gathered at the horse area. We all had changed to cowboy outfit, except Almond who only put on a cowboy hat.

"Hey, Blackberry," Banana said. "Why Albatross... I mean, Almond, didn't change his clothes?"

"Well, the detail is hard to explain. To put it simply, his clothes can't be removed," I said.

"They can't?" Lemon asked.

"Does that mean he sleeps without changing to pajamas?" Blueberry asked.

"Yeah, he sleeps with those clothes, shoes included," I said. "The only thing that can be removed from him is the necklace, and you all know for what."

"Wow, that sounds terrible if it's us," Plum said.

"But the funny thing is that no matter how dirty he becomes during the day, he will be perfectly clean by bedtime," I said.

"Hey, Blackberry," Annie said while approaching me with a black horse at her side. "I'm going to pair you with this horse. He likes a rider who's calm and also smart. His name is Black Currant."

"Eh... what...?" I asked, not believing her last line. "Did you say... Black Currant?"

"Yes, that's his name," Annie said. "What's the matter."

"I had a cat with the same name," I said.

"What a coincidence! But that makes it even better to pair you with him, right?" Annie said, and I didn't say anything.

"Uhh.. Annie. I think we should pair Blackberry with another horse," Strawberry said.

"Huh? Why?" Annie asked. Strawberry didn't answer and instead she looked at me.

"Black Currant, my cat... He died protecting me six years ago," I said, which seemed to surprise Annie. "Without his sacrifice, I wouldn't be here now."

"Uhh Sorry. I didn't know," Annie said.

"It's not your fault," I said, stroking the black horse. "And don't worry about pairing me with this Black Currant. I'll get along with him just fine."

Later, all people had been paired with their horse and were riding them. I could see Almond riding a brown horse skillfully, which surprised me because he had never ridden any horse before. He then approached me.

"Hey bro, doing good with Black Currant?" he asked.

"You already know his name?" I asked.

"I can hear anything you hear if I want, remember?" he said. "You seemed down when Annie brought Black Currant to you, so I got curious and activated that trait."

"I see," I said. "By the way, I'm pretty surprised seeing you riding your horse so well," I said.

"My telepathy, along with him helping me with language barrier, really helps. Glad that ever since I split my soul, I no longer have any headache while connecting to him in human form," he said. Suddenly we heard someone screaming. We then rushed to Strawberry and Annie to ask about what had happened.

"What happened? I heard someone screaming," I said.

"It was Plum Puddin'," Strawberry said. "Her horse jumped over the fence and she was frightened."

"Is she going to be alright?" Almond asked, looking at a distant horse running around the field with its rider looking scared.

"Don't worry. Thunder knows where he's going," Annie said calmly.

Later that night, there was a chili cooking competition between the teams. I had no idea about cooking chili, so I only watched. I was standing close enough to the other group so I could hear Angel Cake bossing towards her team.

"Hey, Almond. Use your fire on this pot!" Angel said.

"Huh? But..." Almond said.

"We need to keep the fire hot, so do it now!" Angel interrupted.

"Alright..." Almond said. He then used his Flame Stone power on the pot. I was worried about the pain and burn damage he had to endure, but I decided to believe in him, so I didn't say anything.

"Hmm... Smells berry good," Strawberry said, smelling the chili from her team's pot. Blueberry then took a spoonful of the chili and tasted it.

"Could use some more chili powder," Blueberry said.

"Plum, could you do it?" Strawberry said.

"I'm on it," Plum said, bringing a bottle of chili powder. She was about to shake the bottle above the pot when I interrupted.

"Wait a second, Plum," I said, approaching her. "Before doing that, make sure the cap is sealed tight. Don't want to risk the cap falling and all chili powder in the bottle getting into our chili, right?"

"Oh yeah, you're right," Plum said, tightening the bottle cap. "Oh my gosh, glad you said that! The cap is loose!"

"Berry great job, Blackberry!" Strawberry said as Plum carefully added the chili powder to the pot.

Not long after, Annie went to the other group and tasted their chili.

"Ouch!" Annie said right after tasting.

"What's the matter?" Angel asked.

"This was delicious," Annie said. "But it's too hot! I mean, the heat. You probably had the fire too big. But don't feel bad about it."

Annie then went to our team's pot and tasted our chili.

"Hmm... This is... Perfect! Well done!" Annie said. "Team Strawberry is the winner for this match!"

Our team cheered for our victory. But my cheering didn't last long because I heard Angel Cake scolding Almond.

"We lost and it was your fault!" Angel said.

"I was about to say that the fire from Flame Stone is hotter than ordinary fire, but you wouldn't listen!" Almond said.

"You should have controlled it! It's your..." Angel said, but I came and interrupted her.

"He did everything as you told him, and now you blame him?! Do you know how hard it was for him?!" I shouted.

"Huh...?" Angel said in surprise. I then pulled Almond's right hand which he had been keeping inside his pants pocket. There was severe burn damage all over his hand.

"Look! This is what always happens if he uses the Flame Stone power continuously for more than one minute!" I shouted.

"Calm down, brother! It will heal by tomorrow morning!" Almond said, but I didn't listen.

"He did all those for you, and you scolded him?! I had better thought of you, but now I hate you, and I will never forgive you! NEVER!" I shouted from the top of my lungs. There was a silence, and I walked away from the crowd still holding Almond's hand. However, suddenly everything went dark and I didn't remember anything that happened next.

When I woke up, I was on a bed, but not the bed in the bunkhouse. I had no idea how I suddenly had ended up there, but I noticed that it was already the next day in the morning from the sunlight coming through the window in the room.

"Morning," suddenly a familar voice greeted.

"Hey, Almond. Where am I? What happened?" I asked, looking at Almond who was sitting on a chair next to the bed.

"This is Annie's bedroom. I knocked you out, with my soul power," he replied, which surprised me.

"Huh? Why? For what?" I asked.

"Because I needed you to calm down," he said. "Do you realize what you've done? Do you know what happened after you threw a tantrum like that?"

I couldn't answer, so I kept silent.

"Angel Cake broke down and cried! She was so shocked, and she fainted not long after! Not to mention the atmosphere became so bad that Annie decided to call the entire event off!" Almond said, standing up. "Everyone else should be halfway home by now."

"But she..." I said, but Almond interrupted.

"I know! You had a point that what Angel Cake did wasn't right, but you didn't have to be so outraged! You said it yourself that anything done out of rage wouldn't bring anything good, but why did you end up doing that?" he said. "Everyone else said that it was not like the usual you."

"Because..." I said, but I couldn't bring myself to speak further.

"Tell me, brother," he said, sitting on the bed.

"Because I love you," I said. Almond seemed a bit surprised. "I love you as my brother. I'm determined to guard you from anything at all cost, even if it means losing everything else. I won't mind the entire Strawberryland hating me, as long as I can always guard you I don't need anything else."

"Well, I'm flattered," Almond said. "But that still cannot justify what you have done. I appreciate you defending me, but you went too far and it won't bring any good for your future."

"Yeah, I pretty much have lost some of my friends' respect towards me. I'm aware of that," I said. "But the damage has been done and I have to live with the consequences."

"Brother, can you promise me one thing?" he asked.

"What is it?" I asked back.

"Never defend me out of rage again," he said. "If you want to defend me, keep your head cool."

"That may be a bit hard to do," I said.

"Promise me, brother," he said. I kept silent for a while.

"Alright, I promise," I finally said. I saw Almond smiling after I had said that.

"Thank you, brother. That's what I want to hear," he said. Suddenly, his necklace started to shine.

"Almond? What's happening with you?" I asked. Almond didn't say anything. He just kept smiling as his necklace emitted even brighter light to the point I couldn't see anything but white.

"We lost and it was your fault!" suddenly I heard a familiar voice.

"I was about to say that the fire from Flame Stone is hotter than ordinary fire, but you wouldn't listen!" I heard another familiar voice as I regained my sight. I was very surprised that I was back at the chili cooking competition again. Almond had somehow turned back the time.

"You should have controlled it! It's still your fault!" Angel said. I was once again angered by what Angel had said, but I had promised to keep my head cool. Therefore, I just calmly approached her.

"Angel Cake, did you really want victory so bad that you now blame my brother?" I asked.

"Eh? No... I mean... I..." Angel said, losing her words.

"If you want to blame someone, then blame me," I said. "Blame me for your loss because I prevented Plum from accidentally pouring the whole bottle of chili powder to our team's chili,"

"I don't think that makes sense, brother," Almond said, still with both hands inside his pockets.

"Well, does blaming you make sense either when you did what she had told you to the letter?" I asked.

"Alright, sorry for interrupting but I really need to say something here," Annie said. "Angel Cake, I don't mean to corner you, but you are really becoming what we have been trying to avoid."

Angel just bowed down her head, not saying anything.

"We all need to remember that the whole team competition is just for the fun of it, not for the victory or the trophy. So no bragging if you win, no whining if you lose. The participation and putting all your heart in it should be the main point," Annie said.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Angel said. "I'm really sorry, Almond. I was carried away."

"Ah, no worries," Almond said.

"Alright, now that we are settled, let's eat our chili together!" Annie said.

"I'll pass, then," Almond said.

"Why is it?" Angel asked. "Are you still hurt because of what I said?"

"No, not that," Almond said. "I suddenly don't feel too well..."

"I think he needs some rest after using that Flame Stone power," I said. "I'll take him to the bunkhouse and return later."

"Oh I see," Angel said. "Good night, Almond."

"Good night, Almond!" the others said. The two of us then walked away from the group.

"Can't have her feel more guilty because of seeing this," I said, pulling Almond's left hand from his pocket while still walking. The hand had severe burn damage.

"Yeah, thanks," Almond said.

"And thank you to you too," I said.

"Huh? For what?" he asked.

"For turning back the time to give me second chance," I said.

"I did that?" he asked.

"Yeah. You don't remember?" I asked.

"I see. So that's why suddenly my soul power suddenly depleted and I felt so weak," he said. "Yeah, I can turn back the time, but I don't get to keep my memories of the future. Only one other person I choose will get to keep the memories."

"Oh..." I said.

"What had happened that I turned back the time?" he asked.

"It's embarassing. I'd rather not talk about it," I replied. "But I'm very grateful that you averted it."

"You're welcome," he said. "Though there will be no Albatross for at least two weeks because of this."

"A small price to pay," I said.

"If you think that's a small price, I'm starting to wonder what kind of trouble you got into," he said.

"You're better off not knowing," I said.

"Come on, bro. Tell me!" he said with a smirk.

"No!" I said, running away from him.

"Hey, wait!" he said, chasing me, and the two of us ran all the way to his team's bunkhouse.

-End of Chapter 15-

Referenced episode: Back in The Saddle. The first episode of Big Country Fun DVD.


	24. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Take The Time to Listen

The event on Annie's ranch had been over, and all of us had arrived back home. At the end of the event, Annie had given the trophy to Strawberry's team. However, it had been decided by every single member of the team that the trophy should have been given to both teams. So, we had had a group shot photo with both teams holding the trophy and the event had been closed with everybody happy.

Just one day after the trip, after a good night sleep on my bed, I went back to my working table to finish the new device I had been working on. Almond woke up some time later and then he went outside without saying much to me, probably because he didn't want to disturb.

I finished the new device just before lunch time. I wanted to test it out, but I needed something more. Therefore, I walked to the phone in the living room and called Strawberry's house.

"Hello. Strawberry Shortcake here," Strawberry answered the phone.

"Hi, Strawberry," I said. "Blackberry here."

"Hi there, Blackberry! How are you?" she said.

"Good, thank you," I said. "Strawberry, I think I need your help with something."

"What is it? I'll be glad to help!" she said.

"I've just finished a new device and I want to test it out. I'm wondering if I can borrow one storybook or two from you," I said.

"Of course you can! I'll bring them to you!" she said.

"No, you don't have to. I'll come and take them," I said. There was no answer. "Strawberry?"

Suddenly, someone knocked my home entrance.

"Come in! Door's not locked!" I said. The door then opened and to my surprise the guest was Strawberry. "Strawberry? But how...?"

"See?" suddenly Almond followed behind her, and the two of them giggled. "We got him!"

"Almond... Figures..." I said after sighing a little.

"I'm berry sorry for surprising you, Blackberry," Strawberry said, still giggling a little. "Almond was visiting me when you called. He heard everything you had said, so he went to my bookshelf, took two books, and brought me here with Albatross."

"Albatross? But you said two days ago that there would be no Albatross for two weeks," I said.

"It was a mistake. I came up with that time thinking that I was still the one transforming!" Almond said. "My other half here has his own soul power reserve, though much smaller than mine. He can't keep Albatross for long if my reserve is dry or I'm too far from him."

"Your power has been growing so fast lately," I said. "I remember when you only could be Albatross once a day for five minutes. Now Albatross can last for one hour in your normal condition."

"Yeah, indeed, and I don't know why," he said. "But as long as I can always use my power to help others, I have no problem."

"Alright, Blackberry. Now that the storybooks you need are here, what are you going to do with them?" Strawberry asked.

"This," I said, taking the new device from my working table and putting it on the table in the living room. The device was a thick box with an insertion on its top, which was large enough to put a book in. Attached to one side of the box there was a vertical support pole and at the top end of it there was a scanner with the shape of a gun pointing at the insertion of the box. At the butt of the gun there was something similar to a radar dish.

"It looks cool, Blackberry!" Strawberry said. "What does it do?"

"If we put a storybook in this insertion, the device will scan the book and make a dimension door which will bring us into the world inside the storybook," I said.

"That's berry cool, Blackberry!" Strawberry said.

"How do we return once we're inside?" Almond asked.

"I have also made a remote controller for this device. It will take care of everything," I said, showing a small remote controller.

"That's good to hear. So, when will we go?" he asked.

"After lunch I guess," I said, looking at the clock in the living room wall. "Let's have lunch together, Strawberry."

"Thank you berry much, Blackberry," Strawberry said. I then went to the kitchen and quickly prepared bread slices. I then brought them all to the dining table which had a collection of jams on it, and we all sat around it.

"You have so many kinds of jams, Blackberry!" Strawberry said, astonished by the amount of jam jars.

"I like making jams based on the names of my friends," I said. "Actually, I just started making those about one week ago. With my Jam Maker."

"Though some names cannot be made into jams," Almond said. "I can't really imagine about 'angel jam', 'crepes jam', 'frosty jam', or 'tea jam'."

"That would be berry funny!" Strawberry said with a giggle. "Look at these jams! You even have peach jam, mango jam, persimmons jam, and jackfruit jam!"

"The last one is very spot on," Almond said and we all laughed.

"We've only met them for a very short time, but they're our friends too, and I believe they will be in the future. I mean, our future," I said.

"You're berry right, Blackberry!" Strawberry said, and the two of us started having lunch. But soon enough, Strawberry noticed Almond not eating.

"Why are you not eating, Almond?" Strawberry asked.

"Ah yes, I haven't told anyone other than brother about this," Almond said. "I don't need to eat. I never feel either hungry or full."

"Really? But nobody said that you shouldn't eat, right?" Strawberry asked, looking at me afterwards.

"For that matter, I let him decide," I said. "But I think you should eat sometimes, Almond. It's a pity if you never experience the taste of food."

"Blackberry is berry right, Almond," Strawberry said. "You should try eating once in a while."

"Well, if you say so," Almond said. He then took a bread slice, smeared a random jam on it, and ate it. "Well, this one is good enough."

After we finished our lunch, we went back to the living room table where the device was put. I took my backpack from nearby my shelves and put in a number of devices, along with the new device's remote.

"Ready?" I asked. Both Strawberry and Almond nodded. "Alright, put the storybook into the insertion."

Strawberry then took one of the two books and put it into the insertion. I then activated the device, which immediately scanned the book. Less than one minute later, the radar dish behind the scanner gun let out electricity waves, which created a dimension door. All three of us then jumped into the dimension door. When we got out of the dimension door, we saw that we were on an open field of grass with a few trees and bushes around us. I looked around and noticed a castle in a distance.

"Blackberry, where are we?" Strawberry asked.

"Inside the world of your storybook of course," I said.

"I know that, but which part of the story?" she asked.

"If my device works right, it should be the beginning of the story now. Unless there's a flashback to some time before the beginning. In that case we would be brought to that part," I said.

"Well..." Strawberry said, thinking. "This story has one."

"Hey, isn't that Banana Candy?" Almond said. We then looked towards where Almond was looking at, and indeed we saw Banana Candy walking towards us. She looked troubled.

"Definitely not. She's just a character in this story, who happens to look like her," I said.

"She looks troubled. Let's help her out," Strawberry said. We then approached her. She seemed a bit surprised.

"Who are you all?" she asked.

"We're... travellers from far away," I said. "You look troubled, so we're wondering if we can help."

"Oh, I see," she said. "Well..."

She then told us about a celebration of the birth of Princess Strawberry Rose and she was tasked to deliver invitations to the people of the kingdom. Her trouble had been from one house which was completely surrounded by thorny brambleberry bushes, which had made it impossible for her to deliver the invitation. While she were speaking, all four of us walked towards the house she had mentioned and we arrived right when she finished telling.

"It's indeed completely surrounded by thorns. How does the house owner gets in and out from there?" I asked, taking the invitation scroll which had been left there on one of the bushes.

"The owner is a fairy. She can just fly over them," she said.

"Hmm... any ideas?" I said, looking at Strawberry and Almond.

"There are other fairies, right? I think you can kindly ask one of them to deliver the invitation," Strawberry said.

"Oh yeah, you're right! Why didn't I think about that?" she said. "Thank you! I'll get to it right away! Oh, here are invitations for you all! Be sure to come!"

"Thank you berry much!" Strawberry said, receiving the invitations.

"See you soon!" she said, running off.

"So... what will happen now?" Almond asked. "What we just did will make the story different than it's supposed to be, right?"

"I'm actually not sure about that. Let's just wait and see what happens next," I said.

"According to this invitation, the party is still two days away. What are we going to do until then?" Strawberry asked.

"Hey, backpack. Give me the remote for the new device," I said. My backpack then immediately gave me the remote. "We can use this to skip time right to the day of the party."

"Let's get going then," Almond said. Strawberry also agreed, so we skipped time to the day of the celebration. When we arrived at the castle entrance, we gave our invitations to the receptionist, who happened to look like Plum Puddin'

"Let's see... The guest list has 'three travellers' written at the bottom. I suppose you are them, right?" she said. "Banana has told me a bit about you all, but she somehow forgot to ask for your names. Anyway, please come in!"

"Thank you berry much," Strawberry said, and the three of us went inside. The event was held in the castle courtyard, and we could see a baby bed placed at the main stage of the courtyard. The bed had its curtains closed so we couldn't see the baby. Right next to the bed, a puppy which looked exactly like Pupcake was sleeping on the floor.

"I wonder how the baby looks like," Almond said.

"Well, judging from her name and Pupcake sleeping next to the bed, I won't be surprised if she looks like Strawberry," I said.

"The fairies should come berry soon if the event still stays true to the book," Strawberry said, and she was right. A group of fairies soon came flying from above. It was pretty surprising that the fairies looked like our friends. To be more exact, they looked like Tangerina Torta, Orange Blossom, Ginger Snap, Rainbow Sherbet, Apple Dumplin', and the last one which I didn't recognize at first but actually looked like Angel Cake but with darker skin and dark purple hair. They flew straight to the baby bed, greeted the puppy, and opened the bed curtain, which then revealed the baby inside. Indeed, the baby looked like Strawberry.

"The story is different now," Strawberry said. "The purple fairy shouldn't be here yet because of the failed invitation delivery."

"What is supposed to happen here?" I asked.

"Each fairy will give one gift to the princess with her spell, but after four fairies give their gifts, the purple fairy will suddenly come, angry for not being invited. She then will place a berry horrible curse on the princess and leave," Strawberry said.

"Curse? What kind of curse?" I asked.

"A prick from a brambleberry thorn will make the princess vanish forever," she replied.

"That sounds horrible indeed," Almond said.

"But after that, the last fairy who has not given her gift yet will use her gift to replace vanish with sleep," she said.

"But now that all fairies are here, let's see how things will go," I said. "Looks like it's starting."

"I give you wisdom, my darling girl. Be the wisest ruler in all the world," Rainbow fairy said, casting her spell.

"You'll be a gifted ruler when you become our queen. Not just of people, but nature's creatures and all things green. I give you a green thumb, darling girl," Tangerina fairy said, casting her spell.

"For now and always ever after, my gift is one happy laughter," Ginger fairy said, casting her spell.

"The gift of true friendship is my gift to you. You'll be patient, forgiving, and a good listener too," Orange fairy said, casting her spell.

"My turn then," the purple fairy said. "Or maybe you want to go before me, Appleberry?"

"I'm still thinking, Brambleberry. Please go before me," Appleberry said.

"Alright," Brambleberry said, waving her wand. "Since everyone else has taken care of your inside, my gift to you is healing. Be all wounds you will ever receive, healed with no scars staying."

"I think my gift will be this," Appleberry said, waving her wand. "Generosity is my gift to you. Whenever there is someone in need, you'll be more than happy to aid."

After Appleberry had finished her spell, there was a beeping noise from my pocket. I knew that the noise came from the remote, so I took it and examined it.

"This part of the story is over. It's time to skip time again," I said. "And it's for... 11 years? That's a huge jump."

"Yes, after this part there is a time skip until the princess is about as old as me," Strawberry said.

"I see. Let's go in any case," I said, and I used the remote to skip time to the next part of the storybook.

We arrived at a place unknown to us. We were in the middle of a forest, and there was no sight of anything that could be used to lead the way.

"Where are we?" Almond asked.

"I have no idea," Strawberry said.

"Don't ask me," I said. "But I'm sure we're still somewhere within the storybook world."

"I guess so. Let's walk around... Ouch!" Strawberry said, suddenly holding her back neck.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"I think I got bitten by a bug here," Strawberry said. I then examined her back neck, and indeed one part was red and swollen.

"Yeah, indeed. Are you all right? Do you feel anything wrong now?" I asked.

"I think I'm..." Strawberry said, before she suddenly fell down and fainted. Almond quickly held her body so she didn't fall to the ground.

"Strawberry! What happened?!" Almond said, slowly putting her on the ground.

"Her fever is high. Whatever bit her is probably poisonous," I said, touching her forehead. "Can you do something with your healing power, Almond?"

"Bro, you know my soul power reserve is empty and won't start refilling for two weeks. Even if it is not, my healing power can only heal physical wounds, not intoxication!" Almond said.

"Even if we bring her back to Strawberryland, I don't think there's anyone who can cure her there," I said. "We better bring her to one of the fairies. They should be able to help her, hopefully."

Almond then carried the unconscious Strawberry on his back and we started moving to one direction. Unfortunately for us, similar with Greenhill, the world inside the storybook had no soul, so Almond couldn't use his scanner ability. We could only hope that we would run into one of the fairies.

"Hey! What are you doing there?!" suddenly we heard a voice. We looked to the source and saw that the voice came from Brambleberry fairy.

"We're..." I said before interrupted.

"Isn't that Princess Strawberry Rose?" she said.

"No. She is..." I said before interrupted again.

"I see! You two are kidnapping her! You no good kidnapper!" she said.

"You're wrong! We just..." I said, but once again I got interrupted.

"I'm not listening!" she said, and then she casted a spell on us. I didn't know what happened next.

Some time later, I woke up not knowing where I was. The first thing I could notice was the fact that I was locked in a cage which was not even large enough for me to stand up. Beyond the iron bars, I could see that I was in a small stone house. Across the room was a bed, and I could see Strawberry lying there covered in blanket from neck to toe and without her hat. She was fast asleep but she was breathing heavily, which meant her condition was still bad.

"Finally awake, you kidnapper?" a voice suddenly said. I looked to the left and saw Brambleberry sitting on a chair.

"I'm not a kidnapper!" I said.

"I see no other explanation for you two hurrying, bringing unconscious Princess Strawberry Rose in the middle of a forest," she said.

"That was because..." I said.

"Because you kidnapped her and you were running away from the kingdom!" she interrupted.

"Put that aside for now! Her condition is bad!" I said.

"Yeah, because you two poisoned her to make her unconscious," she said. "I've been trying to cure her, but I can't do anything if I don't know what poison you used!"

"That's not..." I said.

"I'm not listening!" she interrupted. "Now I will only listen if you tell me what kind of poison you used on her."

"We didn't even..." I said.

"I said, I'm not listening anything other than what kind of poison you used!" she interrupted, and I couldn't say anything. "Not convinced yet? Then how about this?"

After saying that, she waved her wand towards a part of the room which had been covered by a curtain. The curtain then opened, and I was horrified by the sight of Almond being unconscious and entangled by brambleberry vines which were growing from a pot.

"Almond! What have you done to my brother?!" I shouted.

"Well, right outside that window is a pile of brambleberry thorns," she said, waving her wand. The vines then brought Almond near the window she had mentioned. The window was wide open and large enough for a person to go through. "I suppose you don't want me to throw your brother there, do you?"

"NO!" I shouted. Of course I knew Almond would regenerate any injuries, but he would still feel the pain and I didn't want that to happen.

"Then you know what to say," she said.

"Uhh... Bug!" I said, suddenly getting an idea. "We extracted the poison of a bug!"

"Interesting. What bug?" she asked.

"Uhh... the poisonous kind that lives around here!" I said.

"Be more specific! There are two kinds of poisonous bug around here, and if I give her a wrong potion she'll only get worse!" she said.

"I... I don't know," I said.

"There's no way you don't know!" she said, waving her wand. The vines brought Almond closer to the window. "Tell me or..."

"I really don't know!" I said.

"You don't think I wouldn't really throw your brother out of the window, do you?" she said, waving her wand again. The vines moved as if they're getting ready to throw Almond out. The situation was really grave, but suddenly someone knocked on the front door.

"Hmph!" she said. Putting her wand on the table next to her. "Coming!" She then flew to the front door and opened it.

"Hello, Brambleberry!" a voice said, and I could recognize the voice as Huck's voice.

"Oh hello, Prince Huckleberry! Welcome!" Brambleberry said. "But I'm afraid the situation is bad now."

"Bad? What's the matter?" he asked as the two of them entered the house. Indeed Prince Huckleberry looked like Huck. He then noticed me and Almond, but he had not noticed Strawberry on the bed. "Who are these guys?"

"These no good villains kidnapped Princess Strawberry Rose and made her unconscious with a poison. I'm now trying to make him tell me what poison they used so I can cure her," she said.

"They kidnapped Princess Strawberry Rose?" he said. "That cannot be right."

"But that's what happened," she said, showing him the unconscious Strawberry. "See?"

"Princess Strawberry Rose...? This... cannot be..." he said.

"Unbelievable indeed. That's why I'm gonna get the information right now," she said, looking at me.

"Brambleberry, do you know why I said that this cannot be right?" he asked.

"Huh? No. Why?" she asked.

"Hello, Brambleberry! How are you? I've just picked brambleberries from your garden for your berry delicious treat you have invited me for!" suddenly someone none other than Princess Strawberry Rose came into the house bringing a basket full of brambleberries. Brambleberry was very surprised.

"I have been with her since this morning," he said. "Whoever this girl is, she is not Princess Strawberry Rose."

"What are you talking about?" Princess Strawberry Rose asked. She then noticed everything and got very surprised. "What's going on here?"

"Then... who is this girl?" Brambleberry asked in disbelief, and she looked at me.

"She is my friend Strawberry Shortcake. We are travellers from far away and she got bitten by a poisonous bug," I said.

"Well, I think I can guess what happened next," Prince Huckleberry said, looking at Brambleberry. She was speechless, seeming embarassed and afraid. "Better release them now, Brambleberry."

"Uhh... Yeah. Right away," Brambleberry said. She then took her wand from the table and waved it. My cage opened and the vines released Almond, who landed on his feet fully awake.

"So you were awake all this time?" I asked.

"Yeah, but I couldn't get free anyway, so I just kept pretending to be unconscious," Almond said, then he whispered. "Well, to be exact, couldn't get free without setting the house on fire."

"I... Uh... I..." Brambleberry said, being very afraid and embarrassed.

"Put that aside for now. Now the thing to do first is to cure her," I said, though it was pretty obvious that I sounded upset.

"Which part of her was bitten?" Prince Huckleberry asked.

"The back of her neck," I said. He then examined the back of Strawberry's neck.

"Oh, I know this," he said. "Brambleberry, please get the potion for Berry Wasp poison."

"I... I'll get to it," Brambleberry said. She then took a vial from her shelf and carefully put the content into Strawberry's mouth. She then waved her wand and Strawberry's body shined. After it was over, I could notice her breathing normally again and her face became more peaceful than before.

"Is she alright now?" I asked.

"She should be. Just let her sleep more for now," Prince Huckleberry said. All of us then walked outside the house.

"I believe it's time to settle things between us now," I said, looking at Brambleberry.

"I... I... I'm sorry!" Brambleberry said, kneeling on the ground.

"You accused us of kidnapping, put me in a cage, threatened to harm my brother, and now you expect everything to be settled with 'I'm sorry'?" I said.

"The last one was just a bluff! There's only soft grass there," Brambleberry said.

"That doesn't make you any better," I said. "Everything could be avoided. Strawberry could be cured faster. If only you took a time to listen to me!"

"Please calm down, traveller," Princess Strawberry Rose said. "I admit that Brambleberry made a mistake, but could you please forgive her? I believe she has learned from her mistake."

"I can't ever deny such polite request," I said after sighing. "Alright, fine. Just do me one favor."

"I'll do anything! What do you want?" Brambleberry said.

"I heard someone saying about brambleberry treats," I said. "I'd like to have some."

"Not only some! I'll give you many! As many as you want!" Brambleberry said.

"Did I hear something about brambleberry treats?" suddenly Strawberry came out from the house saying that.

"Strawberry! You're okay!" I said.

"Yeah, I'm berry fine now. Though I have no idea what have been happening while I was asleep," she said.

"This fairy, Brambleberry Fairy, helped us to cure you. Other than that, nothing special," Almond said, which pretty much surprised Brambleberry.

"Thank you berry much, Brambleberry!" Strawberry said.

"I... I... It was no problem... really..." Brambleberry said.

"Also, this might be a bit awkward but... Strawberry, meet also Princess Strawberry Rose and Prince Huckleberry," I said.

"Hello," Prince Huckleberry said.

"It's like I'm looking at a mirror! Nice to meet you," Princess Strawberry Rose said.

"You're berry right! I'm Strawberry Shortcake, and this is my friend Blackberry Bun, and his brother Almond Cookie," Strawberry said.

"Well, now that we're done introducing, let's get inside for the brambleberry treats," Prince Huckleberry said, and we all went into the house. I really hope Brambleberry has learned her lesson about taking the time to listen to what others have to say.

-End of Chapter 16-

Referenced episode: Sleeping Beauty. The first episode of Happily Ever After DVD.


	25. Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Unexpected Meeting

We went out from Strawberry's storybook not long after parting with everyone in Brambleberry's house. I brought with me quite a number of Brambleberry treats which Brambleberry Fairy had given to us. The first thing I checked was the time because I needed to know how long had passed in the real world while we had been away in the storybook.

"Well, that's surprising," I said, looking at the clock on the living room wall.

"What is it?" Almond asked.

"Not even a minute has passed here," I replied.

"Are you sure, Blackberry?" Strawberry asked.

"Well, there's one way to know," I said. "Almond, please communicate with him and ask how long we have been away."

"I see. Okay," Almond said. He then closed his eyes for a brief moment, and opened them again.

"Well?" I said.

"He said that we came out of the portal just about ten seconds after we had entered," Almond said.

"How berry strange! We spent a lot of time there, right?" Strawberry said.

"Ten seconds... Hmm..." I said, thinking for a moment. "This is just an estimation, but it seems that one day in the storybook is one minute in the real world."

"That's interesting," Almond said.

"I don't know if it will be the same for a different storybook, though," I said. "Oh, Strawberrry, please take the storybook from the device and check if there's any change in the story."

"Alright," Strawberry said, taking the book from the device. She then opened the book and read it briefly. "Nope, the story here is still the same."

"Well, it's unfortunate, but if we enter the book again the story will probably restart and nobody will remember us," I said.

"Hey, it is how a storybook supposed to work!" Almond said. "After we finish reading one and then go back to page one, the story begins again without any change!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right," I said. "Let's try the other storybook then."

"This one is more peaceful. There is no villain in this story," Strawberry said, taking the other storybook.

"Good for us," I said in low voice so only Almond could hear it.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Almond asked. Strawberry then put the storybook in the device. I activated it and it began to scan the storybook. However, suddenly the device let out black smokes right after the scan had finished.

"Something is wrong. I better turn it off," I said, but right before I could switch it off, electricity waves emerged from the device and created a dimension door. To make matters worse, the dimension door sucked all of us like a black hole.

We all fell down on an open field of grass. I immediately stood up, and so did the others.

"What just happened?" Strawberry asked.

"I honestly have no idea," I said, picking up my backpack which fortunately had been sucked in with us.

"Better make sure we can still go home," Almond said.

"Yeah," I said, taking the device's remote which I had been keeping in my pocket. I pressed a button and a dimension door appeared. "No problem here. We can go home anytime we want."

"That's a relief," Almond said as the dimension door vanished. "Let's enjoy this world then, now that we're here."

"Hey, look! Someone's coming!" I said, pointing to a direction. Indeed there were two persons walking towards us. It was a bit surprising that one of them looked like Sour Grapes, but it was even more surprising that the other person can be recognized as Purple Pie Man but younger, about Apple Dumplin's age.

"The lady is probably Professor Grapes, but I have never seen the boy with her in the book," Strawberry said.

"He sure looks like Pie Man," Almond commented.

The boy seemed to notice us, and then he talked to the lady while occasionally pointing at us. Once they were near us, they stopped and started a conversation.

"Good day. Do you know the way to the king's castle?" the lady asked.

"Umm, we are travellers from far away, so we have no idea. Sorry," I said.

"Oh dear," she said. "Better keep walking, then."

"May we walk with you?" Almond asked.

"I see no problem," she said, and we started walking. "Ah, where are my manners? I am Professor Grapes, and this is my son Purple Palm Pie."

"Uhh, hi there," the boy said timidly. "You can just call me..."

Professor Grapes interrupted by clearing her throat.

"Never mind," Purple Palm Pie said.

"My name is Blackberry Bun," I said.

"I'm his brother. My name is Almond Cookie," Almond said.

"I'm Strawberry Shortcake. It's berry nice to meet you, Purple Palm Pie and Professor Grapes!" Strawberry said.

"Why are you all here?" Purple Palm Pie asked.

"Well, we are travellers. We just happen to be here," I said.

"Oh, I see. My mother here was invited by the king and the queen to be the teacher for the princess," Purple Palm Pie said.

"That must be a very tough job. We wish you luck," I said.

"Thank you," Professor Grapes said.

"Hey, Strawberry," I whispered. "Is it written anywhere in the book that Professor Grapes has a child?"

"I am berry sure that it is never mentioned anywhere in the book," Strawberry whispered back.

"That's very strange," I whispered. "Probably the effect from the accident we had when we came to this world."

"So what do we do now?" she asked.

"Let's wait and see what happens next. If anything goes wrong we will immediately get out of this world," I whispered.

It didn't take long for us to find the castle because it was big enough we could see it from far away. When we arrived at the front gate, we stopped and a conversation started.

"Wait here, son," Professor Grapes said. "I'm the only one invited."

"Alright, mom," Purple Palm Pie said.

"Travellers, could you please accompany my son? This should not take long," Professor Grapes said.

"No problem," I said.

"Thank you," she said, and then she entered the castle.

"Is your mother a famous teacher, Purple Palm Pie?" I asked.

"You can just call me Pie Boy when my mother is not around," Purple Palm Pie said, which felt a bit awkward for me. "And yes, she's famous for being strict and a bit odd. And she has a very long list of references."

"Where are you from?" Almond asked.

"I don't know," he said.

"How come?" Strawberry asked.

"Mom's reputation made many kings invite her to be the teacher of their princesses. That's why she has been moving from one kingdom to another even before she had me," he said.

"Do you wish to have a permanent place to stay?" I asked.

"Yeah, kinda. All the travels are quite tiring, and having to say farewell to my friends every time mom moves..." he said.

"I see, that must be tough," Almond said.

Not too long later, Professor Grapes came out from the gate bringing a key and a scroll.

"Son, here is the key for the house the king provides for us this time, and here is the map for its location," she said, giving the key and the scroll to Purple Palm Pie.

"What about you, mom?" Purple Palm Pie asked.

"I am going to pick up the princess and bring her to her study place. I will be home by nightfall," Professor Grapes replied. "Like before, I have memorized the location."

"Alright, mom," Purple Palm Pie said.

"Travellers, thank you for your patronage. I should not hold you any longer than this," Professor Grapes said.

"It was no problem," I said.

"Hey, where are you all going to sleep tonight?" Purple Palm Pie asked.

"Well, we haven't decided," I said.

"Mom, how about we invite them to stay at our house?" Purple Palm Pie asked.

"I see no problem with it," Professor Grapes said. Purple Palm Pie then looked at us with delightful face.

"Well, I guess we will gladly accept," I said. "Thank you."

"Thank you berry much!" Strawberry said.

So, the three of us stayed in Professor Grapes' and her son's temporary house, which was a simple wooden house located at the edge of a forest behind the king's castle. During our stay, Purple Palm Pie asked a lot about us such as where we were from and places we had visited. We ended up telling him everything about Strawberryland and quite a number of places I and Strawberry had visited during our stay in Oz.

"Wow! All the places you have told me about are all amazing! As if they came out from a fairy tale!" Purple Palm Pie commented.

"They sure are pretty hard to believe, and I honestly didn't expect you to believe that we really have been there," I said.

"Why shouldn't I believe? The world is huge! No matter how much I have travelled, there must be many amazing places I have not even heard of!" Purple Palm Pie said.

"You're berry right, Pie Boy!" Strawberry said.

"But still, how far are those places from here?" Purple Palm Pie asked.

"Well..." I said. "We were in those places years ago, and we have been travelling without map. So unfortunately we now only know that those places are very far from here."

"I see. That's unfortunate," Purple Palm Pie said.

Professor Grapes came home by nightfall as she had said, and during dinner we learned about the princess she had to teach this time. The princess' name was Rapunzel and she was a complete tomboy, which had made her parents worried that she would not become a proper princess. To remedy this problem, Professor Grapes had been invited to be the teacher of the princess so she will learn the right thing. For this purpose, a tower was provided to be used as the classroom and also the place where the princess would stay for the rest of her studies. The tower was unique in a way that the only entrance and exit was a window located near its peak, which was only accessible with a long ladder.

"I'm not sure, but putting her in a tower doesn't sound right..." I said.

"Yeah, kinda sounds like a prison to me," Almond said.

"You have a point, dear. But I have to do things necessary for achieving what I was hired for," Professor Grapes said.

"Well, I guess I'll just believe that you know what you are doing and wish you luck," I said.

"Thank you," she said. "Let us sleep now. It is already late."

"Good night," I said, and we all went to sleep.

At the next day, Professor Grapes was already gone by the time the three of us woke up. We found Purple Palm Pie in the living room, sitting on a chair and reading a book. He stopped reading when he noticed us coming.

"Good morning! Did you sleep well?" he asked.

"Good morning, Pie Boy! Yes, we slept berry well! Right, everyone?" Strawberry said.

"I guess so," I said.

"Yeah," Almond said.

"So, what are we going to do today?" Purple Palm Pie asked.

"Well, this kingdom should have a town, right? Let's go there and walk around," I said.

"That's a berry good idea, Blackberry!" Strawberry said. Purple Palm Pie then took the map we had used the day before and opened it.

"According to this map, the nearest town is about 30 minute walk from this house," he said.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Almond said in excitement.

"Right behind you," Purple Palm Pie said.

We then walked to the town of the kingdom. During the trip we told Purple Palm Pie more about us and he was excited to hear them. Later, as he had predicted, we arrived in town by 30 minutes. The town was about as technologically advanced as the towns in Oz, but of course only inhabited by humans without any magic present. After walking a bit, we ended up at the marketplace. The place was crowded with people shopping and trading, as expected from a marketplace. We didn't have any intention to buy anything so we just kept walking.

"It's him! He's the one!" suddenly we heard someone yelling. We looked at the source and saw a merchant pointing at us. Other citizens started looking at us immediately.

"Get him!" another merchant yelled, jumping from his stand and running towards us.

"RUN!" Almond said, and we immediately ran away from the place. The merchants, along with quite a number of citizens, chased us.

"What's the matter with them?" Purple Palm Pie asked while still running.

"I have no idea!" I said.

"Me neither! But the way they acted obviously meant nothing good for us!" Almond said.

"Hey, look!" Strawberry said, pointing forward. We then saw someone at an alleyway entrance signaling us to enter the alleyway. His face was concealed in hood. We knew that we would be caught if we kept running straight, so we entered the alleyway. The guy then led us into a small house and once we were inside, he opened a trapdoor leading to the basement of the house. All of us, including the guy, entered the basement. Not long after, we heard noises of people chasing us from the outside. Fortunately, the noises eventually faded. The guy then lit up a lantern to illuminate the dark basement. We then realized that he was as tall as us, although we still couldn't see his face.

"Thank you for saving us," I said.

"Yeah, thank you," Purple Palm Pie said. "Although I still have no idea why they chased us."

"It's because of me," the guy said, revealing his face. The rest of us were surprised because the man looked exactly like me.

"What? Two Blackberry?" Purple Palm Pie said.

"I see that we even share the same name," the guy said, looking at me.

"Wait! You said 'because of you'? Does that mean..." Almond said.

"Exactly," the guy said. "I'm a thief, and this is my hideout."

"You're a thief? That's not a right thing to do!" Strawberry said.

"Strawberry, we better let him be," I said.

"But..." Strawberry said.

"I know how you feel. But remember, Strawberry. This is not our place. We should not meddle with the affairs of people here," I said.

"Okay..." Strawberry said.

"Wait until nightfall, and you will be safe to get out of here," the guy said.

"Unfortunately, we have a problem here," Almond said. "His mother will be worried about him."

"And to make it worse, he was seen with me and he will be staying in this kingdom with his mother for a while unlike us," I said. "If someday he comes to this town again, I don't know what will happen."

"Hmm..." the guy said. "I have an idea for that."

About half an hour later, the marketplace of the town was already back to its usual activities. But the activities didn't last long because a merchant noticed the thief he knew walking at the edge of a much less crowded street carrying a large sack.

"Look! He's stealing something again! Get him!" the merchant said, jumping from his stand. The thief noticed people chasing him and he started to run fast. However, the sack he was carrying was too heavy. So, he dropped the sack and ran away really fast, quickly disappearing from sight.

"He got away again!" the merchant said.

"At least this time he didn't get to steal anything," a citizen said, crouching near the sack.

"I wonder what he was going to steal this time," another citizen said. "Let's open it."

The people then opened the sack and got surprised. Inside the sack was Purple Palm Pie, bound and gagged, and looking scared.

"What?! This time he kidnapped a boy?!" a citizen said.

"You are the boy who were with him this morning, right? Who are you?" the merchant said, releasing the boy.

"Purple Palm Pie. Professor Grapes is my mother..." Purple Palm Pie said.

"Professor Grapes? Isn't she the new teacher of Princess Rapunzel?" a citizen said.

"I was walking around town and he said he would guide me around. But he..." Purple Palm Pie said right before he cried.

"Easy, boy. You're safe now. I'll take you home," the merchant said.

Meanwhile, back at the thief's hideout, he has returned and met the three of us who were still waiting in the basement.

"Mischief managed," he said to us, which was a relief.

"Thank you berry much!" Strawberry said.

"It's surprising that you were strong enough to carry him around," I said. "I definitely can't"

"He's not that heavy. You need to work out more," he said.

"But I wonder..." Almond said. "Why did you go this far to help us?"

"I don't know," he said. "Maybe because I just felt like helping a twin brother."

"Hey, I'm not..." I said before he interrupted.

"Of course I know that!" he said. "Anyway, as I said, wait here until nightfall and you will be safe to get out."

"We don't need to," I said, activating the remote of the device. A dimension door appeared at the corner of the room.

"Heh, you're more than meets the eye as I thought," he said. "Farewell."

"Farewell, and thank you," I said. All of us then jumped to the dimension door.

We ended up in my room, which was quite a mess because of what had happened. The clock in the room showed that only one minute had passed, proving that my estimation was right.

"Well, brother. He just told me that we have been away for only one minute," Almond said.

"The story in this book is still the same. Purple Palm Pie and the thief is never mentioned anywhere," Strawberry said, checking the storybook.

"This is sad, but probably they were somehow created by the mess that happened. We might never meet them again even if we enter the storybook again," I said.

"That's berry sad..." Strawberry said.

"Hey, they're still with us, right here!" Almond said, pointing at his chest.

"Our heart? You're right. We have good memories of them, and that's how they still live with us," I said.

"You're berry right, Almond!" Strawberry said.

"But hey, there's another way!" I said. "We can write stories about them ourselves!"

"That's a berry good idea, Blackberry! I can't wait to do that!" Strawberry said. "Thank you for all the adventures today, Blackberry!"

"Thank you for providing the storybooks too, Strawberry," I said.

"See you later!" Strawberry said, and then she went home.

-End of Chapter 17-

Referenced episode: A Princess Named Rap. The second episode of Happily Ever After DVD.


	26. Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Talk It Out

A week had passed since the day I, along with Almond and Strawberry, went into two storybooks using the new device I had made. The device had not been named that time, but later on that day I had decided to name the device as Book Diver. Speaking of Book Diver, the three of us actually had tried going into both storybooks once again at the next day. My predictions had turned out to be true. In both books the story had restarted and nobody had remembered us. In the second book, both Purple Palm Pie and my thief look-alike had not existed when we entered the book again. I had no explanation for their one time existence, and I saw no possible way it could have happened. Therefore, we had decided to keep the memories of them in our heart.

By the way, Strawberry actually had taken my idea seriously, and she really had written a story of both my look-alike and Purple Palm Pie. None of us knew the full name of my look-alike, so she made up the name Burglar Blackberry. In her story, Purple Palm Pie was the son of Professor Grapes whom she always left home alone because she was busy teaching Princess Rapunzel. One day, the two characters met by chance and eventually Purple Palm Pie convinced Burglar Blackberry to return the things he had stolen and live an honest life from then on. The End.

Of course the story is much longer than that. But this is my journal, so I have to tell my own story, don't you agree? Anyway, I will begin for real now.

Almond had been sleeping endlessly for the past three days. Turning back the time apparently had costed him more than just two weeks worth of soul power reserve. It also had disrupted the flow of energy supply from the Sun Stone to his human body. Because of that, he had fainted quite often while playing outside. Of course, it had made me worried sick about him so he had decided to hibernate until his soul power reserve is refilled. He also had convinced me that his hibernation would speed up his recovery, so I had allowed him to do it. However, I still had no idea how long he would stay asleep.

Without anything to do, I decided to visit Blueberry Muffin at her house. When I got there, I was a bit surprised to see that she was not alone. There were Strawberry, Orange, and Angel with her, and they seemed to be preparing a set of a TV studio, complete with costumes, lights, and camera.

"Hi, there," I said.

"Hello, Blackberry! It's berry nice to see you!" Strawberry said.

"Hi, Blackberry," Orange greeted. "Is Almond awake yet?"

"Not yet," I said. "By the way, what are you all doing here?"

"We're going to make a movie!" Strawberry said in excitement.

"Movie? Seriously? Why all of a sudden?" I asked. Then I learned from Strawberry about a closed down theater and their intention of reopening it by making a movie.

"I can be wrong, but I don't think we can save a theater with only one movie," I said.

"It never hurts to try, and we will never know the result if we don't try!" Strawberry said.

"Well, alright if you say so. Do you need help?" I asked.

"That will be berry appreciated, Blackberry!" Strawberry said.

"Alright, let me look around and see what you all have done so far," I said. I then walked towards the almost-finished set of a pirate ship.

"What do you say, Blackberry?" Angel asked.

"It's fine, but we're not going to make a movie with only this one set, right?" I said.

"Of course not! There will be more!" she said.

"Making other sets will take too much time and energy. I think I know what to do here," I said.

"That is gonna be great!" Angel said.

"I'll be back soon," I said, going back home. Not long later, I returned bringing a device which looked like a disco lamp along with a portable control panel.

"What is that, Blackberry?" Strawberry asked.

"Something I made years ago," I said. Putting the control panel on the floor. "Its name is Scenery Creator."

"What does it do?" Blueberry asked.

"We're very curious!" Orange said.

"Give me a minute," I said, activating the 'disco lamp' and throwing it upwards. It then floated at the center of the room. I then sat in front of the control panel and activated it. "Listen, friends. Do not move from your position no matter what!"

"Huh? Oh, okay!" Strawberry said.

"What do you mean?" Angel asked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Orange asked.

"Alright if you say so," Blueberry said.

"Here goes!" I said, pressing a button on the control panel. Everything around us went static and blurry, and then suddenly we were on a beautiful coastline.

"Wow..." Strawberry said.

"What just happened?" Blueberry asked, looking around.

"Did you just teleport us?" Orange asked.

"This is amazing!" Angel said, starting to run towards the sea.

"No! Don't...!" I shouted, but it was too late. She suddenly crashed onto something hard.

"Ouch! What was that?" she asked, rubbing her nose. I then deactivated the device with the control panel, and we were instantly back to Blueberry's house.

"That's why I told you to stay put. We're actually still in this same room. Running around will cause what just happened to you," I said.

"You should have said that before!" she said, being very upset.

"Angel Cake, he told us to stay put," Strawberry said.

"He did not explain why we should stay put!" Angel said. "And what's the use of that thing if we cannot move around?!"

"Angel Cake, don't say it like that," Strawberry said.

"It's fine, Strawberry. She has a point," I said. "I guess I have to make a few adjustments to this device."

"You better do that or you will cause more accident," Angel said.

I was frankly a bit upset with Angel Cake's attitude. She could have said those with nicer way of speaking. I didn't want to repeat the averted history, though, so I just kept silent about it.

Later, the sky was getting dark and the weather was getting very windy. We have decided to call it a day and go home. I left Scenery Creator and my tools in Blueberry's house because I thought it was easier than bringing them back home.

"Be sure to close all your windows, Blueberry," I said at the front door. Everyone else were holding their hats because of the strong wind.

"Yeah, it's going to be stormy tonight," Angel said.

"It does look stormy," Blueberry said. "Don't worry. I'll do it right now."

"See you in the morning!" Strawberry said, and all of us went back home.

Later that night, I couldn't sleep. I just came to realize that it was the first time I left my device at someone else's house overnight. Would the device be okay? Had Blueberry remembered to close the windows? All my paranoia prevented me from getting any sleep at all. So, I decided to check on Blueberry's house. It was already over midnight and the weather was still very windy, so I decided to ride Arrowhead to go to Blueberry's house. When I arrived there, I was surprised seeing the window wide open. I immediately closed the window, although I knew I was too late.

"Ah well, I guess I'll have a lot of work to do tomorrow," I said before going back home.

At the next day, when all of us were back at Blueberry's house, we were horrified to see everything inside being a complete mess. What really surprised me was the fact that the window I had closed at midnight was wide open again.

"What happened here?" Angel asked, then she saw the window. "Oh, Blueberry! You didn't close the window!"

"But I did close them," Blueberry said. "Though I remember something..."

"What is it, Blueberry Muffin?" Strawberry asked.

"About midnight, a noise woke me up. I was curious, so I looked through the window in my room," she said.

"What kind of noise? Did you see anything?" Orange asked.

"It was an engine noise, and..." Blueberry said, looking at me. "I saw you, Blackberry."

Everybody was pretty surprised hearing that. I knew that I soon would become a victim of a misunderstanding.

"Is that really true, Blackberry?" Strawberry asked. "Were you really here last night?"

I was completely torn between denying and accepting. I didn't want to lie and deny, it was not a right thing to do. But accepting would put me in a really bad misunderstanding situation.

"I... Yeah... I was here," I said, deciding not to lie.

"Why did you do that?! That's just mean!" Angel said.

"I said I was here, not that I opened the window on purpose," I said, trying to hold myself from getting enraged.

"Would you explain to us, Blackberry?" Strawberry asked.

"It's useless," I said. "Nobody will believe me."

"Of course we would! Why shouldn't we?" she asked.

"I don't want to talk about it," I said with upset face and arms folded. "I did not open the window. That's all I want to say. If you don't believe me for that one, then I will just leave."

"Maybe we should just get back to work," Orange said.

"Right! We can't let something like this stop us!" Strawberry said. We all then went back to work. I was glad that I had managed to contain myself, but I still felt something burning in my chest, and it did not feel good at all. In any case, I was lucky that the storm did not cause any damage to Scenery Creator, so I didn't have much to do.

"We'll have things ready to go in no time flat! Maybe sooner!" Strawberry said once most of the mess were cleaned up.

"The costumes seem to be okay, just a little dusty," Blueberry said, clearing dust from her costumes.

"My work is done. I'm going out for now. Be back soon," I said, then I left the place. Outside, I just walked aimlessly with nothing in my mind. I still felt upset because of Angel Cake, and I had no idea where to vent it out. Without my knowing, I was already halfway home. I had nothing to do at home, so I turned around and went back to Blueberry's house. When I arrived and entered, everyone there were gathering near the costume rack and they looked at me.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"Look at these messes," Orange said, showing the costume she held. It was too small for her, but maybe could fit Margalo. I then noticed that the others were also holding a messed up costume. Strawberry's pirate hat was half red and half blue. Angel's coat had an extra sleeve.

"How could this happen?" I asked.

"Well... I actually noticed something," Orange said. "I noticed at one moment that some costumes were missing from the rack, but I only thought that they were being cleaned. And then..."

"And then what?" I asked, hoping that I would not fall to another misunderstanding.

"When I looked again, I saw a hand putting these messed up costumes on the rack," she said.

"And at that time you were the only one not with us," Angel said. That was when I knew I would fall victim again. "Are you trying to ruin our movie?!"

"Why would I want to do that?" I asked with arms folded.

"I don't know, maybe you're mad because you don't get any role?" Angel said cynically.

"Say whatever you want," I said, walking away from them and getting out from the house again. Once outside, I put on Blind Spot and walked around the house. When I got close to an open window, I heard something, so I decided to stop and listen.

"We need to talk, Strawberry," a voice I recognized as Angel's said.

"About what, Angel Cake?" Strawberry asked.

"About him. Blackberry," Angel said. "He's definitely trying to ruin our movie."

"That's not a nice thing to say, Angel Cake," Strawberry said. "Why would he do that?"

"Because he doesn't get any role!" Angel said.

"He never asked for it, and if he really wants a role we can always give him one," Strawberry said.

"One more thing, Strawberry. He did not deny that he did all those. That's more than enough proof that he is not as nice as we have been believing," Angel said.

I did not hear anything more than that. I was already hurt badly by all I had heard, that I immediately left the place with major pain on my chest. After removing Blind Spot, I kept walking aimlessly without anything but grief in my mind. Without my knowing, I stumbled upon something very familiar. It was Purple Pie Man's carriage, parked at a pretty obscure place. I then examined the storage space at the back of the carriage, and I found pirate costumes which had probably been stolen from Blueberry's house. I also found a stack of paper which turned out to be the script for the movie. All things I had found were more than enough proof that our movie making had been being disrupted by Purple Pie Man. I was about to immediately return to Blueberry's house, but suddenly I was grabbed by none other than Purple Pie Man himself.

"Snooping little kid. Not so fast," Pie Man said, holding me.

"Why were you trying to ruin our movie?" I asked.

"There's no use talking about it," he said. "Sour Grapes, find me a rope!"

"Is confining me going to do any good for you?" I asked. "My friends will eventually know."

"Do you think I haven't heard everything there? They are no longer your friend. They believe that you're the one ruining their movie," he said. "And I didn't even try to frame you. You did it to yourself."

"I guess you're right," I said after sighing. Soon, Sour Grapes came bringing a rope. I knew that once again I would waste time being tied up by Pie Man. It had happened so many times that I was embarassed of myself for easily getting into this mess.

However, suddenly a very loud lightning strike occured. It surprised all of us so much that Pie Man released his grip and I fell down to the ground. I immediately stood up and realized what had happened.

"What was that? Lightning strike? How?! There is no cloud!" Pie Man said.

"Why should I know?" Sour Grapes said. Immediately, Albatross came and floated near us.

"What is that thing?" Pie Man asked.

"Remember when I said 'jet plane' the last time we met?" I asked back. "That's my jet plane. Albatross."

After I said that, the canopy opened and my dear brother Almond jumped out from it. He landed right in front of Pie Man, who was startled.

"Brother! I'm glad that you're okay!" Almond said, running past Pie Man towards me.

"Yeah, thanks for your help, Almond," I said as he hugged me.

"Hey, what happened here?" suddenly I heard Strawberry's voice. I looked and indeed Strawberry was there along with Angel Cake, Blueberry, and Orange.

"I don't know myself, but I know that Pie Man here captured my brother and I came just in time," Almond said.

"Hey, aren't those our costumes?" Blueberry said, noticing the costumes.

"And that looks like our script!" Angel said, noticing the papers.

"So you're the one who have been trying to ruin our movie!" Orange said.

"Why did you do all those, Pie Man?" Strawberry asked with slightly upset face.

"Well I... That is to say... What I mean is I..." Pie Man said in panic. "Oh, I don't wanna talk about it."

"No! Go on, tell them!" Sour Grapes said.

"Grr..." Pie Man grumbled.

Soon after, all of us were sitting on logs in a circle formation. Albatross had reverted into the necklace worn by Almond.

"So, Blackberry. Why didn't you say that you were not the one ruining our movie?" Strawberry asked.

"I just thought that talking it out was useless because nobody would believe me, and I didn't want to argue. So I thought I could just leave you all thinking that way while I look for the real culprit," I said.

"You didn't have to do that, Blackberry. You should have talked it out. We are friends, we will always believe you. Right, everyone?" Strawberry said.

"Absolutely," Blueberry said.

"Of course we do!" Orange said.

"Yeah, and... umm... Blackberry... I'm really sorry for all I have said. I should have never been so mean," Angel said.

"What's past is past," I said. "Anyway, I wonder how did you all got here."

"We were looking for you, Blackberry," Orange said.

"Although, we actually lost your track," Blueberry said.

"We found you thanks to Albatross. His lightning cannon noise was what led us here," Strawberry said.

"What did you say? Lightning cannon?" Pie Man said, probably realizing that he had been in grave danger back then.

"Only for the surprise," Almond said. "I don't want to harm anyone, unless someone has gone too far..." he continued, grinning towards Pie Man.

"Okay, Pie Man. Please tell us what happened," Strawberry said.

"I... I want to stop your movie because I want to use the old theater as a store to sell my pies," Pie Man said.

"Couldn't you sell pies at the theater if it was open?" Strawberry said.

"Ha! Now there's an idea, eh?" Sour Grapes said.

"Well, I suppose it would be a possibility. But the old theater is closed now so it hardly matters anymore, does it?" Pie Man said. As he talked I noticed his thin moustache moving and curving around, and it was a pretty funny sight.

"It will be open if we finish our movie," Strawberry said. "Pie Man, do you think you can help us?"

"Oooohh what fun that would be! Wouldn't it, Pie Man? Wouldn't it?!" Sour Grapes said, looking very excited.

"Well, guess we could help," Pie Man said. "A little."

So, our movie production continued with two new crews. We got so busy that hours and days passed without our knowing. The production went very smoothly without any meaningful obstruction, and finally we finished everything after 2 weeks. I didn't know what happened next because Strawberry was the one taking care of putting the movie into the theater. All I knew was that one week later all eight of us were at the premiere of the movie. Strawberry, Orange, Angel, Blueberry, Pie Man, and Sour Grapes came to the theater through the front door and the cheering crowds with their best formal clothes, while I who couldn't handle crowds and Almond who couldn't change outfit entered through the back door.

Soon enough, the seats of the studio were filled and the movie started...

-End of Chapter 18-

Referenced episode: Lights... Camera... The second episode of Berrywood Here We Come DVD.


	27. Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Pirates of The Berryland - Beyond The Seven Seas

Once upon a time, somewhere in the ocean far, far away from land, a pirate captain and her crews were sailing with one thing in mind. They were sailing towards an island where a treasure they were searching for was hidden.

"Lands ahoy!" Orange Blossom, who were on top of the mast, shouted.

"Is that the island we've been looking for, Captain Strawberry?" Angel Cake asked.

"It berry much looks like it," Captain Strawberry said, observing the island with her spyglasses.

"Finally! We have sailed the seven seas for a very long time, and now we are going to reap our rewards!" Purple Pie Man said.

"Not so fast, Pie Man!" Sour Grapes said. "We have to find the treasure first!"

"According to the writings on this old map, the treasure is hidden inside a cave filled with traps, and guarded by The Guardian Brothers," Blueberry Muffin said.

"Challenges waiting ahead, mateys," Captain Strawberry said. "But I'm berry sure we can overcome everything if we work together!"

"Aye!" everyone else said together.

"Massive storm ahead!" Orange shouted. Indeed, all of the sudden the calm sea became a very stormy sea with heavy rain, wind, and thunders.

"Get down from there, Orange!" Captain Strawberry shouted. Orange immediately went down the mast, but halfway down she slipped and fell down screaming.

"I got you, matey!" Purple Pie Man said, catching her.

"Thanks!" Orange said.

"Brace yourselves, mateys! We're going to have a berry rough ride!" Captain Strawberry said while trying to steer the ship.

Later, the pirates found themselves on a coastline with their ship stranded and badly wrecked. The storm had disappeared right after their ship had hit the ground, as if its only purpose had been to lead them to the coastline.

"What just happened?" Angel asked.

"It looks like the Guardian Brothers knew we were coming," Blueberry said.

"What did you say? Those Guardian Brothers, they can control weather at their will?" Purple Pie Man asked. "We won't have any chance against such power!"

"Pie Man, have you actually read the writings on the map?" Sour Grapes said.

"Uhh, no," Purple Pie Man said, looking embarassed.

"The Guardian Brothers put tests and challenges to those who come seeking their treasure. The storm was one of them," Blueberry said.

"Eh? Doesn't that mean I was right?" Purple Pie Man said.

"Did you hit your head or something?" Sour Grapes said. "If the Guardian Brothers don't want anyone to take the treasure, we would have been sunk into the bottom of the ocean since the beginning!"

"That's right, mateys. The storm led the ship right into this coastline. They want to see if we have what it takes to get their treasure," Captain Strawberry said.

"But how we will get out of the island after we get the treasure? The ship is wrecked!" Pie Man said.

"We will question it later. Let's move," Captain Strawberry said.

"Yeah, the Guardian Brothers should not wait much longer," Angel said.

"Let's show them what we got!" Orange said.

The group then walked through a visible path into the island. Along the way, they could notice that the island was actually a beautiful one with a lot of trees and pretty landscape. The wildlife they saw so far were harmless and there was no danger at all.

"I honestly thought we would face a real challenge," Pie Man said.

"Keep your eyes open, Pie Man," Sour Grapes said. "We never know what tricks those Guardian Brothers have!"

"Ha! What can happen in this boring, harmless place?" Pie Man said.

After Pie Man said those, suddenly the weather changed. Heavy rain came pouring down with thunders and strong wind for just a few seconds. Then suddenly a number of plants grew around them in an instant, and once the flowers bloomed they let out deafening trumpet sounds. The pirates immediately ran away covering their ears, but they were chased by a group of butterflies which spread pollen on them. Soon, all of them felt itchy all over their body. Within seconds, heavy rain poured again for a few seconds, cleaning their body from the pollen. Right after that, the weather became sunny again.

"What... just... happened?" Orange asked, panting.

"Pie Man angered the Guardian Brothers, that's what!" Sour Grapes said. "Now you see what they can do?"

"Alright, alright. Sorry about that," Pie Man said. He then said in whispering voice to himself. "What a bunch of touchy guardians they are."

Immediately, a trumpet plant grew near Pie Man and let out its deafening sound near him. He was very surprised that he immediately jumped and ran.

"Come on, we must not make them wait!" he shouted while running away. The others laughed and then the trip continued.

Not too far later, the group met a dead end. The path ended at a cliff wall which was green with plant vines.

"Looks like a dead end," Blueberry said. "That's strange. According to the map there should be a cave entrance here."

"Let's look around for clues," Captain Strawberry said.

"Captain! Over here!" Angel Cake said from near the cliff wall. "There's an inscription on this stone."

Everyone went to Angel Cake and saw that there was a large stone with an inscription on it.

"When bathed in light, the door will open and show the path," Captain Strawberry said, reading the inscription.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Pie Man asked.

"Use your head and think, will ya?" Sour Grapes said. "It's a clue. Now think!"

"Maybe the light means sunlight?" Captain Strawberry said.

"But captain, it is sunny now and the cliff is bathing in sunlight," Orange said.

"It's a bit cloudy, though. Maybe the light isn't strong enough," Angel said.

"Hmm, I think I know a way," Sour Grapes said.

"What is it, Sour Grapes?" Captain Strawberry said.

"Just a moment," Sour Grapes said, walking away a bit. She then took something from her pocket. It was a small mirror, which she then held up. The sunlight got reflected by the mirror towards the cliff wall, which immediately reacted. The vines on the cliff wall moved away from the reflected light, revealing a cave entrance.

"Berry nice job, Sour Grapes!" Captain Strawberry said. "Let's move, mateys!"

The group then entered the cave, which at the inside was very dark.

"I can't see a thing!" Orange asked.

"We need to light a torch, but we have none..." Captain Strawberry said. Immediately, they saw something bright coming to them. All of them were surprised that it was a floating fireball.

"Aaahh! A ghost!" Angel screamed. The fireball then floated around right above them. "Get away from me!"

"Calm down, Angel Cake. It doesn't look dangerous," Orange said.

"In fact, it is lighting the way for us," Blueberry said.

"Alright then, let's move!" Captain Strawberry said, and the group started walking with the fireball following right above their head.

"Are the Guardian Brothers helping us now?" Purple Pie Man asked.

"Stay cautious! And don't tempt them again!" Sour Grapes said.

"Yeah yeah, I know already," Pie Man said.

Soon, the group met a wooden door at the end. Captain Strawberry cautiously opened the door, and behind the door was a rather large room with another door at the other side. The floor of the room was made from stone tiles, and the room was illuminated by a larger fireball floating near the ceiling at the center of the room. The fireball which had been guiding them in the cave didn't follow them. Instead, it went away and disappeared.

"What is this room?" Orange said.

"It doesn't matter. Let's go to that door over there," Pie Man said, walking towards the other side. Suddenly a stone tile he stepped on shattered and he fell down into a deep hole below it. However, Captain Strawberry and Sour Grapes managed to grab his arms at the last second and pulled him back to safety.

"This is why I told you to stay cautious!" Sour Grapes said.

"This means, we have to figure out which tiles are safe to walk on," Blueberry said.

"Hey look! There's an inscription over there!" Orange said, pointing at the wall above the door on the other side. Indeed there was an inscription there, and it was large enough for the group to read from the other side of the room.

"Nature will show you the way..." Captain Strawberry said, reading the inscription. "Hmm..."

"I don't know what that means," Angel said.

"Sorry, I don't know this time," Sour Grapes said. "And my useless brother here is too shocked to think of anything."

As Sour Grapes had said, Pie Man was sitting on the ground and shivering, being shocked at the fact that he had just narrowly escaped demise. Captain Strawberry kept thinking for a moment, looking at the stone tiles. She then noticed something and smiled.

"I know!" she said.

"Did you figure it out?" Angel asked.

"Look closely between the stone tiles. Don't you see anything?" Captain Strawberry asked.

"I see nothing other than some weeds... Oh!" Orange said, realizing something.

"That's right, Orange Blossom!" Captain Strawberry said. "Tiles near the weeds are safe. Plants can only grow if there is ground beneath them! Let's move, mateys!"

"How long are you planning to sit there and keep pretending to be shocked? Move!" Sour Grapes said to Pie Man.

"All right, all right," Pie Man said, standing up. Soon, the group was at the door on the other side. Behind the door was another large room with its own floating fireball and a door on the other side. At the center of the room there were five pedestals standing on a circle stone platform in a circle formation, and on each pedestal there was a crystal of different colors floating. In clockwise order, the color of the crystals are green, red, brown, silver, and blue. Between pedestals close to each other there were an arrow mark pointing from one pedestal to the other, also in clockwise direction. In addition, there were also straight arrow marks from each pedestal to another pedestal two steps ahead. All together, the arrow marks form an image of a star inside a circle.

"We did it! That's the treasure!" Pie Man said, running to the pedestals. He then tried to take the crystal from a pedestal, but he couldn't grab the crystal. His hand were obstructed by an invisible barrier surrounding the pedestal.

"I don't think the crystals are the treasure, Pie Man," Captain Strawberry said.

"Then what are these?" Pie Man asked.

"Look at the next door here," Sour Grapes said. Pie Man then walked to the next door and saw that the door had five insertions of different colors, arranged in the same formation as the pedestals with the same arrow marks.

"It looks like we have to insert the crystals here to open the door," Orange said.

"But how are we gonna take the crystals from the pedestals?" Angel asked.

"I've searched for clues in this room, but I didn't find any," Blueberry said.

"I somehow feel that this looks familiar..." Captain Strawberry said, looking at the insertions and the circled star image.

"You too, Captain?" Blueberry asked.

"In any case, split up and examine each pedestal. Maybe you can figure something out," Captain Strawberry said.

"Aye, captain!" everyone else said, and they spread to each pedestal while Captain Strawberry stayed near the door, pondering on why there was something familiar with the insertions. The others examined the pedestals and tried to find out if there was any clue. They also tried a few physical methods such as a pushing, rubbing, or punching, but none worked.

"This is getting frustrating," Pie Man said. Out of frustration, he grabbed a nearby stone and threw it to the blue crystal he had been examining. The crystal's barrier deflected the stone, but then it shattered. "Hey, look!"

Everyone else immediately ran to Pie Man.

"What did you do?" Captain Strawberry asked.

"I just threw a stone at it," Pie Man said, taking the crystal.

Everyone else then tried throwing a stone at the other pedestals, but it didn't work the same way. Red and brown crystal didn't react at all, while the barrier of the silver crystal became solid and seemed more durable. As for the green crystal, the stone shattered when it hit the barrier. After a few minutes, the barrier of the silver crystal reverted back to normal condition.

"It seem each crystal has a different method to remove the barrier," Orange said.

"Figuring one out was already confusing. How are we gonna figure five out?" Angel cake said, being frustrated.

"Whatever. Let's just try everything with trial and error! Burn them, flush them with water, everything!" Pie Man said.

"That will probably take days! There should be a way to figure them out!" Sour Grapes said.

"Wait! Now I remember!" Captain Strawberry said. "It's the circle of five elements!"

"Oh yeah! That's it!" Blueberry said.

"What is that? I have no idea," Pie Man said.

"It's a philosophy of the Eastern land. There are five elements, and each element interacts with some others in a certain way," Captain Strawberry said.

"The elements are fire, earth, metal, water, and wood. A stone counts as earth, and earth defeats water. That's why throwing a stone at the blue crystal removes the barrier. The blue crystal represents water," Blueberry said.

"What about the others?" Angel asked.

"Earth is defeated by wood. That's why the stone shattered when it hit the green crystal, which represents wood," Captain Strawberry said.

"As for the silver barrier becoming solid, earth strengthens metal. The silver crystal represents metal," Blueberry said.

"So that means the brown crystal is earth and the red crystal is fire?" Orange asked.

"Alright, now tell us the weakness of the remaining crystals. Don't leave the rest of us in the dark," Sour Grapes said.

"Water defeats fire, fire defeats metal, metal defeats wood, and wood defeats earth," Blueberry said.

"Alright, leave earth to me," Pie Man said, approaching the brown crystal and kicking it with his wooden leg. As expected, the barrier disappeared and he took the crystal.

"I'll take the wood," Angel said, walking to the green crystal and removing the barrier with the head of her belt.

"I'll have the fire," Blueberry said, splashing the red crystal with water from her drinking bottle.

"Uhh, mateys!" Orange said while standing next to the silver crystal. "I have no fire. My matches are wet."

"What? How are we supposed to take this crystal now?" Pie Man asked.

"Hmm..." Captain Strawberry said, looking at the silver crystal and then at the ceiling. "Anybody got rope?"

"I have," Orange said, taking a long rope from her bag and giving it to Captain Strawberry. "For what, captain?"

"To get our fire," Captain Strawberry said, making a thick knot at one end of the rope. She then threw the knotted end towards the floating fireball at the ceiling. The knot touched the fireball and got burned. She then pulled the rope quickly and used the burned knot to remove the silver crystal barrier.

"Great job, captain!" Blueberry said.

"We all did a great job, because we worked together," Captain Strawberry said. The group then walked to the door and inserted all the crystals into the insertions. The door then let out a bright light.

"Congratulations, treasure seekers. You have passed my test," a voice said from the door.

"Does that mean we got the treasure?" Purple Pie Man asked.

"Silence! Hear the voice out!" Sour Grapes said.

"You have shown me that you all work together as a team, and I'm impressed. Behind this door you will find my brother, and he will test you like I did," the voice said. "If you can pass his tests, the treasure will be yours."

"Did you hear that? Just a little bit more and it's ours!" Pie Man said.

"Shut up and listen! He might have more to say!" Sour Grapes said.

"I must warn you. The tests my brother will give are unfair, or so it seems. Best of luck!" the voice said, and the door opened.

"Wait! What is your name?" Captain Strawberry asked.

"You will know soon," the voice answered while fading away.

"Did the voice say 'unfair'?" Orange asked.

"Does that mean we're gonna face an unfair test?" Angel asked.

"He also said, 'or so it seems'. I wonder what that means," Blueberry said.

"In any case, there's no use staying here. Let's move, mateys," Captain Strawberry said.

"Aye!" everyone else replied. Behind the door was a short cave passageway which led to another room about the same size as before. However, this time the walls on the left and right side were open like large windows, showing views to the outside. At the other side of the room, there was someone wearing robes like a shaman sitting on what seemed like a throne.

"Is that the other Guardian Brother?" Orange whispered to Blueberry.

"That is correct!" the person suddenly said. "I am Guardian Almond, and you are treasure seekers."

"Guardian Almond, what test should we do to get the treasure?" Captain Strawberry asked.

"Straight to the point, eh? Mind you, I'm not as soft as my brother, Guardian Blackberry," Guardian Almond said.

"No matter how hard your test will be, we will get past it because we work together as a team!" Captain Strawberry said.

"Ha! Unfortunately, my test is made to deny that!" Guardian Almond said. "Only one person is allowed take the test! Choose wisely."

The group was surprised hearing what Guardian Almond had said. Then they all gathered to discuss what to do next.

"What should we do now? Who will take the test?" Sour Grapes whispered.

"What will happen if the one taking it fails?" Pie Man whispered. "Can another become a replacement and try again?"

"No! One try only!" Guardian Almond said loudly, still sitting on his throne.

"He sure has sharp ears," Angel said.

"Alright then, I'll go," Captain Strawberry said. "If something goes wrong, just leave me and run away."

"We won't leave you, captain!" Orange said. "We stick together as a team, no matter what!"

"Agreed!" everyone else said. Captain Strawberry smiled seeing the determination of her team. She then moved forward.

"I'll be the one taking your test," Captain Strawberry said.

"All right, let us begin. You see the two candles between us?" Guardian Almond said. Indeed there were two candles on the ground. One was much shorter than the other. "Pick one candle. I will pick the other one and we will lit it at the same time. If your candle is still burning after mine is off, you pass the test."

"Hmm..." Captain Strawberry said, thinking.

"It's logical to pick the long one, but it must not be that simple. The long one is probably rigged to burn out fast," Blueberry said.

"But it is possible to be a trap for us to think that way and pick the short one, and none of the candles are actually rigged," Sour Grapes said.

"Let's just believe in our captain," Orange said, and everyone else agreed.

"I'll pick the long one," Captain Strawberry said.

"Nice choice," Guardian Almond said. The long candle then floated to Captain Strawberry's hand while the short candle floated to Guardian Almond's hand. "I have the short candle here as you can see. Let's begin right now."

Almond then shot fire from his finger to his candle, and then to Captain Strawberry's candle. Both candles began to burn, signing that the test has begun. Captain Strawberry stood still while holding the candle with one hand and covering the fire with the other hand from winds coming from both openings of the room. Suddenly, Captain Strawberry's candle burned very fiercely, consuming the candle very quickly.

"The long candle is rigged!" Angel said.

"Oh, you should have chosen the short one!" Sour Grapes said.

"No difference," Guardian Almond said. "I shot weak fire magic to my candle and shot fierce fire magic to her candle."

"What? You cheater!" Orange said.

"Say what you want. This is my test, and I choose the way I test treasure seekers," Guardian Almond said.

"Curse you!" Pie Man shouted.

Captain Strawberry didn't say anything. She looked at her burning candle, and then she smiled. She then put her candle to the ground and calmly walked towards Guardian Almond.

"If my candle burns like that, the wind will not put it off," Captain Strawberry said once she were close to Guardian Almond. She then blew Guardian Almond's candle, putting it off. Captain Strawberry's candle was still burning for the next ten seconds until it finally went off. The group cheered, knowing that their captain had won and passed the test. Guardian Almond smiled seeing what he had just seen.

"I'm honestly surprised that you found the answer to my test. All treasure seekers before you just threw the candle away and attacked me out of rage," Guardian Almond said. "Congratulations, you passed my test."

"So they made it huh, Almond?" suddenly another person dressed in shaman robes came from behind Guardian Almond's throne.

"Yeah, brother. After all these years, finally someone passed my test," Guardian Almond said. "Throwing treasure seekers out of the window into the sea below has not been a pleasant job."

"Are you the one who tested us before?" Captain Strawberry asked.

"Yes, I am Guardian Blackberry," he replied.

"Are we getting the treasure now?" Pie Man asked, looking very excited.

"Actually, there is one more test," Guardian Almond said. "Come with us."

The group then followed both guardians into a cave passageway behind the throne. Soon, they arrived in another room. At the other side of the room there were two doors next to each other. There was also a large cage near the left door. After every people entered the room, the entrance suddenly closed by itself and was sealed tight.

"Behind the door on the right is a labirynth which leads to the exit of the cave," Guardian Almond said. "The labirynth will take at least three days to go through, probably more. Behind the other door is the treasure you seek and also the exit of this cave."

"Now you have to choose which door to open," Guardian Blackberry said.

"Opening the left door should be the logical action, right?" Captain Strawberry asked.

"That's right, but there is a catch," Guardian Almond said. "Opening the labirynth door doesn't cost anything, but if you want to open the treasure door, three of you must enter the cage."

"Once three persons enter the cage, it will be sealed with our magic. They will never get tired, thirsty, and hungry, but they will never get out of the cage forever," Guardian Blackberry said.

"Take your time and pick your choice," Guardian Almond said.

"What kind of choice is that?" Pie Man said. "We have no supplies. We won't last three more days!"

"I said, pick, your, choice," Guardian Almond said, emitting fire from his hands.

"What should we do, captain? Pie Man was right. We won't last three more days without supplies," Orange asked.

"That means only three of us getting out of here, or none at all," Blueberry said.

"I can't do that!" Angel said.

"Yeah, we have been through things together. We can't just throw it all away!" Sour Grapes said.

"Whatever you say, the choices are either only three of us, or we all perish together," Pie Man said.

"Hmm..." Captain Strawberry said. She then walked towards the two doors and looked at them. The doors were close to each other, the separating cave wall between the doors was maybe just about twenty inches, maybe even less. Yet what lied behind each door was so different.

"Captain!" Orange called. Captain Strawberry then walked back to them.

"We have discussed, and we have decided," Blueberry said.

"We will leave the final decision to you," Angel said.

"No matter what you choose, you will always be our captain and we will support you," Sour Grapes said.

"Yeah, I guess that's the decision," Pie Man said.

"Thank you, mateys. I'm really glad to have all of you with me," Captain Strawberry said. She then turned to the waiting Guardian Brothers. "I have made my decision."

"Speak your choice," Guardian Almond said.

"I want to open..." Captain Strawberry said. "The labirynth door."

"Are you sure with your decision? It's still not too late to change your mind," Guardian Blackberry said. "Remember, you have no supplies."

"I am berry sure!" Captain Strawberry said.

"Then, so be it," Guardian Almond said. He then waved his hand to the right door, and it opened, revealing a dark cave passageway. "Best of luck."

The group then walked into the labirynth door. Once everyone were behind the door, the door shut itself tight and Captain Strawberry stopped walking.

"Everyone, take out all our digging tools!" Captain Strawberry said.

"Huh? For what, captain?" Orange asked, taking her pickaxe which had been hanging on her belt. Captain Strawberry took hers from her belt and started hitting the left wall with it.

"What are you doing?" Pie Man asked. He then realized something. "Oh! I see!"

About one hour later, there was a large hole at the left wall of the cave passageway, large enough for a person to go through. The group had dug a hole from the labyrinth straight into the treasure room next to it. As the group entered through the hole, they noticed that the treasure room was as large as the previous test room, and at the other side of the room were two thrones with both Guardian Brothers sitting on them.

"Congratulations!" Guardian Almond said, slowly clapping his hands. "You have entered the treasure room in a way which is not supposed to exist!"

"Uh oh, he is mad," Orange said.

"Should we run away?" Angel asked.

"There's no use running away from him. Let's face it together," Captain Strawberry said.

"Smart move, captain," Guardian Almond said, standing up and approaching the group. "Do you know what you have just done?"

Nobody in the group said anything.

"Not only that you broke the wall of the room. You also broke the wall of common thought, and for that, I am impressed," Guardian Almond said as he got close to Captain Strawberry.

"What are you going to do to us?" Captain Strawberry asked.

"Only one thing," Guardian Almond said. "Giving you the treasure you seek."

"Are you serious?" Purple Pie Man asked, being very surprised.

"Do I look like I'm kidding?" Guardian Almond said. He then revealed a big treasure chest in the middle of the room. "Go there, captain. You have earned it."

"Not me, but we," Captain Strawberry said. "I would never get this far without them."

Captain Strawberry then opened the treasure chest. To her surprise, there was only a piece of stone tile with an inscription on it. She picked it up and read the inscription in front of her teammates.

"If you highly value your teammates and always work together with them to overcome any problem, you already have the greatest treasure of all," Captain Strawberry said.

"That's it?" Orange said.

"That's the treasure?" Angel asked.

"You gotta be kidding me! All those challenges and tests, and all we got is just a useless philosophy?!" Pie Man said.

"I don't think anybody is kidding, Pie Man," Sour Grapes said.

"But it is berry right, mateys," Captain Strawberry said. "We have gone through many things to get here, and from the beginning we always worked together and had fun together searching for the treasure. I value each and every one of you berry much, and I will never trade that for any kind of treasure."

"You are absolutely right, captain," Blueberry said.

"Of course!" Orange said.

"Together we can overcome any obstacle!" Angel said.

"I guess I can agree with you on that one," Pie Man said.

"He's still upset," Sour Grapes whispered, and the whole group laughed.

"Now that the treasure is found, we have served our purpose," Guardian Almond said.

"What are you going to do after this?" Captain Strawberry asked.

"We will soon fade away into eternal rest," Guardian Blackberry said, getting up from his throne. "And for that, we thank you."

"However, you all have come all the way here. It would be a shame to walk away empty handed," Guardian Almond said, doing a finger snap. The wall at one side of the room then opened, revealing a coastline outside. There was also a dock there, complete with a pirate ship ready to set sail. The ship was bigger and looked much more powerful than the ship the group previously had.

"Life is a journey where we keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things because we're curious, and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths," Guardian Blackberry said, while walking and then standing next to Guardian Almond. "That ship is now yours. Go on and seek new adventures with your greatest treasure of all."

Right after Guardian Blackberry said that, Captain Strawberry suddenly hugged both him and Guardian Almond.

"Thank you berry much for everything," Captain Strawberry said.

"No. We thank you..." both Guardian Brothers said together, and then they faded away into light. There was a silence for about one minute as some of the group leaked tears.

"All right, mateys! Let's go!" Captain Strawberry said. "A new adventure awaits us!"

"Yeah!" The group shouted together, and they ran towards their new ship, ready for the next adventure.

-End of Chapter 19-


	28. Chapter 20 (Final Chapter)

Final Chapter: Hope for a Happy Future

The movie ended with massive applause from the viewers in the studio. I couldn't believe myself that our movie, made from mixing some points of our adventures in Oz, could receive such applause. Soon after, a girl came to me looking hesitated.

"Umm... Are you Guardian Blackberry and Guardian Almond?" she asked.

"Why, yes we are," Almond said. "May we help you?"

"Uhh... Please sign this!" she said, thrusting a notepad with pen.

"Sure! Why not?" Almond said, taking the notepad and pen, and signing it. "You too, bro!"

"Oh, alright," I said, taking both things from Almond and signing it. "Here you go."

"Thank you!" she said happily, and then she left. Just seconds later, the rest of the crowd swarmed each and every one of us asking for autograph. The autograph frenzy lasted for quite a while, and even after we were done with the crowd inside the studio, outside the theater there were more crowds doing the same. I was very overwhelmed, but there was no other good choice besides keep smiling and giving what they wanted. During the course of the swarm, Sour Grapes, who was right next to me, seemed a bit strange. She handled the crowd nicely like the others, but she seemed to be daydreaming as well. I wanted to ask about it, but with the noisy crowd around even screaming will be useless. Suddenly, she seemed very surprised. Her hands stopped signing, which confused the people around her. She then ran through the crowd in front of her, into the arms of a man only I and Almond knew: Somnus. They hugged each other warmly like a couple reunited after being separate for a long time. As this happened, the crowd went into silence and all autograph signing came into a halt as all eyes stared at the couple.

"You came for me..." Sour Grapes said.

"Yes, dear. I am here for you," Somnus said. "And I want to tell you this again."

"Oh... you mean..." Sour Grapes said as Somnus released his hug, kneeled on one knee, and presented a sparkling ring in a box. Sour Grapes covered her face from nose to chin with her hands, her eyes leaked a few tears.

"Sour Grapes," Somnus said. "I want someone to pass through life with me at her side, as her companion. Will you do the honor, to be my wife?"

There was a silence for a moment as Sour Grapes held her tears. She then reached her hand to the ring, held Somnus' hand with the other hand, and then she smiled.

"Yes... Yes! I will!" Sour Grapes said while half sobbing with tears of happiness. Somnus then put the ring into Sour Grapes' ring finger, and the couple hugged again, kissing each other's lips. The crowd around them cheered and applauded, while I looked away the moment I saw it. But I knew for sure that it was the beginning of her happy life.

Months had passed after the event, and winter had come, although not snowing yet. Sour Grapes had changed her name into Stella Grapes, and she lived with both her husband and her brother in a house not far from the theater, which was thriving well thanks to Strawberry's successful movie. Pie Man sold his pies at the theater, and Strawberryland girls happily supplied him with berries and cooking recipes to spice up his shop with variety. His shop was very successful, and everyone was happy to see him finally succeeding to fulfill his dream without damaging Strawberryland.

"Hey, Almond," I said while lying down lazily on the sofa in my living room.

"Yeah?" Almond replied while doing the same on another sofa.

"Is this what Pomegranate meant when she said that?" I asked.

"You mean when she said that Pie Man would finally succeeded?" he asked back, and I nodded. "Probably. Come to think of it, she only said that he finally succeeded, not succeeded in taking over Strawberryland."

"I still wonder, though," I said. "Judging from her looks, she was about the same age as Mango and Persimmons. She should be born pretty soon, but there's no sign of Pie Man going to marry someone."

"I think you missed something, bro," Almond said.

"Huh? What?" I asked.

"She never said how many years in the future she came from. You have been assuming that she was from seven years ahead because we had just come home from that future," Almond said.

"Come to think of it, you're probably right," I said. "I still wonder about Pie Man's wife, though."

"The Berry Princess, right?" Almond said.

"Yeah, I've never heard of a Berry Princess before Jackfruit Jam told me. I don't even know who Cranberry Crisp is," I said.

"Hey, let's visit him and try asking," Almond suggested.

"Well, why not? We have nothing else to do anyway," I said, getting up and taking my jacket, fur hat, and gloves.

So, we went to the movie theater where Pie Man opened his shop. Even though there was no snow yet, it was already cold outside so I wore my winter outfit. To save time, we went there riding Albatross. When we arrived there, it was still quite early so the shop was not open yet. We entered the shop anyway because we knew that Pie Man should be in the kitchen at the back by then. The door bell rang as we entered.

"Sorry! You came too early! We are not open yet!" Pie Man's voice was heard from the back.

"We're just visiting you!" I replied. Soon enough, he came out from the kitchen.

"Oh, hello there, boys. What brings you here? Perhaps the smell of my new recipe?" he said, grinning. "Another one from the girls actually."

"Well, it sure smells good," I said, sniffing the air a bit. "Be careful not to toast it."

"No worries. The oven has a timer," he said. "So, what brings you here, boys?"

"Well, we're just wondering..." I said, hesitating to continue.

"What is it?" he asked.

"We want to know when you will get married!" Almond said.

"Hey, don't ask right out of the bat like that!" I said, hitting Almond with my elbow.

"Hahaha! I like your style, boy!" Pie Man said. "Though I'm still afraid of you, by the way."

"Come on, I'm just like any other kids of Strawberryland," Almond said. "As long as you don't cause any threat to them, that is."

"Yeah yeah, I know," he said. "Anyway, I have no idea about that."

"Nobody in your mind yet?" I asked.

"No. I'd rather think about my pie shop than a woman," he said. "Why are you so interested in that, boys?"

"No, nothing. We're just wondering," I said, trying to avoid further discussion. From that point I started to regret coming to the shop. "Sorry for bothering. We're taking our leave now,"

"Not so fast, kid!" Pie Man said, he then went behind his cashier desk and crouched there. We couldn't see what he was doing.

"Eh, what? Are you going to confine me again?" I asked awkwardly, which was because somehow the line Pie Man had just said reminded me about the events where he had captured and confined me.

"Huh? No, of course not. Why should you think like that?" Pie Man asked, still hidden behind the cashier desk.

"It's your own fault, don't you remember?" Almond said with arms folded and slightly upset face. "Three times, almost four."

"Yeah, I know. Sorry about that. Anyway, I want you to give this to Strawberry Shortcake," Pie Man said, standing up and putting a gift box on the desk. "I'll give you another of this later."

"Huh? What is this?" I asked.

"Let's just say that this is my apology for every harmful thing I have done," Pie Man said.

"I don't think you need to do that," I said. "And what's past is past. You don't have to give me anything, either."

"Also, I don't think you owe any apology to her. Strawberry is just that forgiving," Almond said.

"But I still don't feel right if I don't do anything," Pie Man said.

"Well, I think it's better if you give it to her yourself," I said.

"I want to do that, but I cannot leave the shop," Pie Man said. "Ahh, alright. I'll close early today. But... could you do me a favor?"

"What is it?" I asked.

"I'm kinda... embarrassed," he said, looking away from me. "I need you two to accompany me."

"Alright, tell us the hour and we will be there," I said.

"Well, about two I think," Pie Man said while thinking.

"See you soon then," I said, and the two of us left the shop.

"So, what are we going to do now?" Almond asked. "It's still six hours before two."

"Well, how about going to a place you have never been there yet?" I said, taking Time Remote II from my pocket.

"Huh? What is that place?" he asked.

"The Land of Dreams," I said. The remote responded by creating a dimension door, and the two of us jumped in. We immediately came out right in front of PJ's cafe. Almond looked around and he seemed astonished.

"Wow, I have never seen this place! What is this place actually?" he asked.

"This is the place where dreams are made," I said, walking through the stairs to PJ's cafe.

"Dreams? What do you mean?" he asked, following me. Immediately, the front door of the cafe opened and PJ herself welcomed us.

"Welcome to PJ's! Table for two: Blackberry Bun and Almond Cookie," PJ said.

"It's been a long time! How are you?" I asked.

"I am as fine as ever!" PJ said. "Now please sit down and have your hot chocolate!"

"How did she know my name?" Almond whispered to me.

"I know many things, dear!" PJ said. "I also know that you are actually a soul fragment of a planet far, far away!"

"Well, that's right, but..." Almond said. "I'd rather be recognized as his brother."

"Don't worry, dear! You are what you want to be," PJ said as the two of us sat down. A glass of hot chocolate appeared right in front of me, probably because PJ knew that Almond didn't need to eat or drink anything.

"Bro, you haven't told me what this place actually is," Almond said.

"Just wait a minute. Someone else will come soon," I said.

"Who?" Almond asked.

"Well, it's still quite early in the morning, so it should be... Daisy Dawn," I said.

"You're wrong!" suddenly a fairy entered saying that. It was apparently Mary Midnight. "Also, Article 1C Paragraph 21. Exiled individuals who enters the Land of Dreams again are obliged to leave immediately."

"In addition, Paragraph 22. Refusal is not an option. Those who refuse will be forced to leave by all authorities of Dream Fairy Fields," another fairy, who apparently was Diana Dusk, entered.

"Fairies? And... exiled?" Almond asked, looking confused. There was a silence as the two fairies floated near my head with upset face and arms on their hip. The situation was quite awkward for me, but then both fairies hugged my face.

"It's been so long, Blackberry!" Mary said.

"We have been worried sick about you after you went into the black hole and never returned!" Diana said.

"Sorry about that," I said.

"In any case, you're now back, alive and well, and that's all that matters," Diana said.

"Where's Daisy?" I asked.

"It's her working hours now, and unfortunately there's nobody to take her place currently," Mary said.

"I see," I said. "Oh, by the way, let me introduce you two to Almond Cookie. My brother."

"Nice to meet you," Almond said.

"Nice to meet you too, Almond," Diana said. "However... what do you say, Mary? We have another outsider now."

"But looking at his origin, he can be within Deity category, right?" Mary said.

"Hey, I'm confused here," Almond said.

"I'll answer all your questions when we get back home," I said.

"Alright," Almond said.

"It's decided," Mary said. "Almond Cookie is of Deity category. Therefore, he is immune to our rules."

"Blackberry, like before, you're given until Strawberryland bed time for your visit," Diana said.

"I won't stay here for long. I only want to pass time until two, and also show Almond this place," I said.

"Ah, yes. I still don't know what this place actually is," Almond said.

"This is The Land of Dreams. A place where dreams are made, like I said before" I said.

"Yeah, I remember that," Almond said. "The thing is, I don't know what dreams are."

"Don't you dream when you sleep?" I asked.

"I don't know what it is. All I know is that whenever I fall asleep, poof! I'm already at the time I wake up, like skipping time," Almond said.

"Is it always like that?" I asked, and he nodded. I then looked at PJ, Mary, and Diana.

"Well," Mary said, thinking. "This is probably because he is not registered at the Dream Factory."

"It definitely is. The first time he came to this world, he was a sleepless spaceship. Even after having human body, he remained sleepless for a while. The automatic registration system missed him because of that," Diana said.

"Is there anything that can be done?" I asked.

"That's easy, dear," PJ said. "Take him to my brother, and he will take care of everything."

"Your brother? You mean... Sandman?" I asked.

"Why yes, haven't I told you? Or maybe I actually missed telling you? There are things I still can possibly miss, dear," PJ said.

"Let's just never mind that," I said. "So, Almond, do you want to dream?"

"Why not? I like trying something new," Almond said.

"I'll take you to the Dream Factory, Almond," Mary said.

"And I'll accompany you as your Dream Fairy, Blackberry," Diana said.

"I want to stay here now. Please both of you accompany Almond instead," I said.

"Alright if you say so," Diana said. "Let's go, Almond."

"Yeah," Almond said, and the three of them left PJ's cafe.

"So, what do you want to say, Dear?" PJ asked. "I believe you want to talk to me."

"That's right," I said. "I want to know more about... Somnus."

"Ah, my dear cousin. What do you want to know?" PJ asked.

"I just wonder, how did they meet?" I said. "I mean, an ordinary human, and someone from this land..."

"They have a long history, dear," PJ said. "All the way back to the time when she was still a little girl."

"That long?" I said.

"Both she and her brother had a troubled childhood, and my cousin felt that he couldn't just simply watch," PJ said. "On one occasion, he saved their lives from a life-threatening situation made by their own mother."

"That's just terrible," I said.

"You cannot expect any hospitality from anyone in Porcupine Peak, dear," PJ said.

"I really hope that island can finally find peace someday," I said.

"Even I am not certain about that, dear," PJ said. "I can see the future, but some kind of unknown power prevents me from seeing any future around the island."

"I feel that the island is much more than I have seen," I said.

"Indeed it is, dear!" PJ said. "And we are all the same as you, hoping that Porcupine Peak will eventually find peace."

"Blackberry!" suddenly someone said from behind me. I looked behind and saw that it was Daisy Dawn. Like the other fairies, she hugged my face. "I'm happy to see you again!"

"Me too, Daisy," I said. "And you came just at the right time. Could you bring me to Dream Factory?"

"Sure!" Daisy said.

Not much can be told after that. I went to Dream Factory, met the other fairies there along with Almond and Sandman, and then we spent time touring Land of Dreams until it was almost the time. With proper farewell, the two of us left the place and went straight to Strawberry's house. By coincidence, the two of us arrived at her house at the same time with Pie Man. The three of us then went to the front door and rang the doorbell. Soon, Strawberry came out.

"Oh, hi there, Blackberry, Almond, and Pie Man!" Strawberry said. "Please come in!"

All of us went into her guest room and sat on the sofa there. Within a minute, she came bringing drinks for all of us and after putting them on the table, she sat on a chair across us.

"What brings all of you here?" she asked. Me and Almond looked at Pie Man.

"Well, Strawberry Shortcake. I, am here, to give you this," Pie Man said timidly, putting his gift box on the table.

"Why, thank you berry much, Pie Man!" Strawberry said. "But why?"

"Well, I, it is, I mean..." Pie Man said timidly.

"Hmm?" Strawberry said, still with her usual smile.

"It's a gift of apology for all bad things I have done!" Pie Man said very fast, then he looked away.

"Well, Pie Man, I'm berry grateful for this, and I appreciate seeing you doing this berry much," Strawberry said. "But you don't need to go this far to apologize to me, and anyone else. Indeed the things you have done have been wrong, and I have been upset at times, but everything has become a past and now you have the pie shop you have been dreaming of without causing any bad things to Strawberryland! Everyone is happy, and that is all I want to see!"

"Well, I guess, thank you. That means a lot for me," Pie Man said. "Still, please accept this."

"Thank you berry much, Pie Man!" Strawberry said. "I'll get us something to eat, then!"

Strawberry then took the gift box and then she went to the kitchen. A minute later, the doorbell rang.

"I'm berry sorry, but could one of you please answer it for me?" Strawberry said from the kitchen. "I can't take my hands off right now."

"I'll get the door for you," Pie Man said, getting up and going to the door. He then opened it, and from the guest room the two of us could see that the new guest was a lady in gown whom we have never seen before. However, the color and style of her hair, and also her eye color, reminded me of Seaberry Delight.

"Excuse me, is Strawberry Shortcake here?" the lady asked.

"Uh.. yes.. this is her house," Pie Man said timidly. "And indeed she is here."

"Ah, let me introduce myself. My name is Cranberry Crisp," the lady said, which surprised me and Almond.

"P-Please come in," Pie Man said. As the two of them entered the house, both me and Almond went to Strawberry who was still in the kitchen.

"Who came, Blackberry?" she asked.

"Maybe it's better if you delay the food a bit," I said.

"Huh?" Strawberry asked. She then looked at Pie Man and Cranberry, who sat side by side on the sofa. Both of them looked timid and blushing. "Oh, I see. But who is that lady?"

"Strawberry, I need to say this to you," I said. "When destiny calls you, you must be strong. You will always have the support from everyone."

"What are you saying, Blackberry? You sound like my life is going to change forever," Strawberry said.

"You will know soon enough, Strawberry," I said. "We will just leave now. See you later."

After I said the line, both me and Almond immediately rushed out and left the place. After we were far enough, we slowed down to walking pace towards my house.

"Well, I guess we have the answer now," Almond said.

"Yeah," I said. "And this is also definitely the beginning of a drastic change in Strawberry's life."

"What do you feel about that, brother?" Almond asked.

"No matter what, I believe she will still be the Strawberry Shortcake we all know and love," I said. "I got a hunch, though, that someday she will carve a history on Strawberryland."

"Why? How do you know that?" Almond asked.

"I just know," I said. I then noticed that snow started falling. "Look, Almond."

"Ahh, snow," Almond said. "This is the first time I see snow in Strawberryland. As Almond I mean."

"I wonder how the land will become by tomorrow," I said, looking up.

At the next morning, the two of us woke up and realized that the entire land was covered in snow. As far as eyes could see, everything was white. After I had my breakfast, the two of us went out of my house to have a tour around snowy Strawberryland.

"Wow, the snow became this thick overnight," Almond said as I went down the ladder. "Wonderful."

"Everything looks so different and new," I said as we walked to where Arrowhead was parked.

"It's like having a big white sheet of paper to draw on," Almond said.

"Indeed, full of possibilities," I said, getting on Arrowhead.

"So, what are we waiting for?" Almond asked, sitting behind me.

"Let's go exploring!" I said, turning the engine on, and then we were off to explore the white Strawberryland, always hopeful for a good and happy future for all.

-The End-

Stay tuned for the third series: "Blackberry Bun's Oz Journal". Coming May 2013.


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